


Strangers on a Subway

by Roseslover36



Series: Detroit Pack [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Stiles, Bad Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Ghost Allison Argent, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lydia’s middle name is Lorraine, Other Stiles Stilinski, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Some Plot, Tattooed Stiles Stilinski, Undercover Cop Stiles Stilinski, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 44,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25605478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roseslover36/pseuds/Roseslover36
Summary: What if Stiles had never been human? What if Peter had bit him without asking? What if Stiles had left after Allison died?Nine years after Stiles disappears, an exhausted and terrified Lydia bumps into a familiar stranger in a subway. When she finds out what he is, will she be able to trust him? And will he help her find the family she thought she’d lost?
Relationships: Allison Argent & Isaac Lahey, Allison Argent & Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski & Kira Yukimura, Stiles Stilinski & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Detroit Pack [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049414
Comments: 194
Kudos: 433





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Massive paragraphs ahead, I know, but please bear with me, it’ll settle into a more normal format in the next chapter.

The one good thing about your best friend being a made wolf, instead of born, is that once his senses are enhanced, he never notices that your scent isn’t like the other humans. You smelled like dirt before, of course you would smell like even more dirt now. Well, Stiles would prefer to say that he smelled ‘earthy’ but, semantics. Fortunately, by the time the other wolves appeared on the scene, Stiles had become a master at manipulating the breeze to blow his scent away from their sensitive noses; although they were all so inexperienced he wasn’t sure it was necessary. He sometimes wondered if he should have told Scott... if it would have made the whole “you’re a werewolf” bomb a little easier to swallow if Scott had had proof that his best friend wasn’t exactly human himself. Stiles honestly always _meant_ to tell Scott, he just never managed to get around to it. Derek, the murders, the Argents, specifically Allison... well, and her mother, oh and Kate too, okay all of the Argents. They had all interrupted Stiles’ plans to tell Scott the truth.

It had gotten a little tricky when they had been stalked by the Alpha in the school, but everything worked out all right... mostly. When he found Lydia’s body on the lacrosse field, and saw Peter beside her he was half a heartbeat away from blasting the man’s face back off. But Peter wanted him for something, _needed_ him for something; Stiles wanted to know what it was. So he called Jackson, and went with Zombiewolf. Fortunately, Peter was still too out of it to recognize Stiles’ otherness. Unfortunately, this meant that Stiles had let down his guard, typing away at the computer to find Derek, and wasn’t really paying attention until he realized that Peter was actually biting him. He hadn’t really been worried about Peter killing him, and he figured he could get to Scott before anything truly horrible happened. He did, however, get a bit nervous when he heard Peter muttering to himself about how strong of a werewolf he would be if he survived. He also found it interesting that the pain from the bite was... increasing. Granted he had never heard of a werewolf biting his kind before, so there wasn’t really any prior experience to go by but... yes this was definitely a new personal best for enduring massive pain without screaming. After he had woken up on the concrete floor of the parking garage from what he was sure _definitely wasn’t a_ _dead faint,_ he really didn’t have enough time to take stock of the new abilities that had manifested, or what effect they would have on his old abilities. So he went to the hospital, grabbed Jackson and, well... yeah he wasn’t real proud of lighting Peter on fire, but also... dude was crazy. Also Peter _bit_ him!

But after that, he really was planning on sitting Scott down and telling him the whole truth. He wasn’t human. He’d never been human. He was an Elemental. He could control the elements. And also that he was apparently now a werewolf, too, and didn’t _that_ make things more complicated. Just as soon as Lydia was out of the hospital, he was gonna tell Scott. But then Lydia was _missing_ from the hospital and then Gerard showed up and then the kanima and then, and then, and then... This was exhausting. He had to be extra careful too because with all the new wolves Derek was making, there were more noses to confuse with errant breezes, more eyes to notice any action that went beyond the capabilities of a normal human. Especially when Erica got into his personal space as she was wont to do. When Derek cornered him and the others in Scott’s house and sent Erica and Issac in to get Lydia, he was _this close_ to just saying “screw it” and outing himself as supernatural. Because, really? You’re sending teenagers in to kill a teenager? This is not some dystopian YA novel! It was pretty tempting in the swimming pool too, he could have just made an air pocket in the water for the two of them to chill in until the kanima went away. Or, ya know, sent the thing packing himself. The sheriff’s office though, that was tough. When Matt came in and pointed that gun at his dad he nearly lost it. It was everything he could do to keep himself from ripping the gun out of the lunatic’s hands and send him flying through several walls. But he wasn’t a murderer, and he’s pretty sure that would have qualified. He healed faster from the kanima venom that Derek did too, lying there, debating whether he should get up and help or keep one last card up his sleeve. When the Argents showed up, he was glad he’d stayed still. It made things so much easier when Gerard’s goons grabbed him after the game. He saw Erica and Boyd immediately, the dark didn’t really do much to obstruct his eyesight, and he could feel the electricity surrounding them. He wanted to get them out right away, but didn’t want to overplay his hand to Gerard. So instead he winked at them, and let the old man take him down. The beating wasn’t pleasant, and it took a lot of concentration to keep himself from healing immediately, but after Gerard threw him out, he was fine in seconds. It took him even less time to bring the winds around him and use them to pop him back into the basement. Any where wind can go, so can he.

It took him the better part of the night to get Erica and Boyd settled far away from Beacon Hills, somewhere they’d actually be safe. He didn’t tell them how he could do what he did, and he didn’t let them catch his scent. Once Jackson became a relatively normalish werewolf and the rest of _that_ whole mess got cleaned up, the Alpha Pack appears, and Cora reappears, and that’s a whole ‘nother host of suspicious noses and eyes and ears watching, and everything is just so complicated, and he doesn’t even know if he _wants_ to tell Scott anymore.The motel was a close call. If he hadn’t been able to talk Scott down from the spell he would have killed that fire in a heartbeat to keep Scott safe, no matter who had been in that parking lot with them. People are dying, and he doesn’t know exactly why, he can’t figure out the puzzle and too many things are happening at once and even he can’t be everywhere at once. And don’t even get him _started_ on Jennifer Blake.

He was a little concerned about what the surrogate sacrifice would do to him, but his powers weren’t working, he couldn’t trace his dad and it was the only thing he could think of to do. Of course actually getting to his dad was a whole other trip. He should have just gone by wind but the wind was all messed up. Knocking himself out by driving into a tree in the middle of a storm created by a crazy woman _messing with his elements_ was definitely one of the stupider things he’d ever done. By the time he woke up, it took a lot of effort to make his way to the nemeton and the cellar underneath. A cellar that was _collapsing_ , and holding up the earth without letting the other people know he was doing it, showed him just how out of shape he truly was.

Of course, in hindsight, being out of shape definitely kept the damage to a minimum during the whole Nogitsune debacle. Stiles was pretty sure he could have knocked himself loose from his unwanted mental roommate a whole lot sooner if he hadn’t had to constantly engage in a massive wrestling match over his powers. He lost it a bit when he threw Derek in the loft... let Void grab control of his werewolf strength for a hot minute and that was terrifying considering how many people he knew and loved were within close proximity. And then Allison. He blamed himself, naturally. He was a werewolf _and_ an elemental. He should have been able to save her. But his regenerative powers weren’t strong enough yet to heal someone else, they were barely working enough to keep him on his feet. Getting out in the open, seeing Allison in Scott’s arms, no heartbeat. He took one look at Scotts face and knew. Scott blamed him too. And while Stiles would eventually be able to forgive himself, Scott never would. So, Stiles helped take down Void. And how he would have _loved_ to obliterate that monster, but he wasn’t an Alpha, he couldn’t change someone, so Scott got his revenge. He still blamed Stiles though. So Stiles hugged Lydia when she saw Aiden was gone too, and then he went home. He slept for three days, and he and his dad ate their weight in all the greasy food they loved. He packed a bag, promised his dad he’d call every week, and left, without ever telling anyone what he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Her eyes were so heavy. Everything was heavy. Her whole body was screaming for attention; food, water, sleep. Still, she couldn’t rest. She wasn’t safe. But the rhythmic clacking of the subway was working better than a lullaby. With a start, Lydia jerked her head upwards and shook it. Surreptitiously, she glanced around. She didn’t think anyone had noticed. The car was nearly empty, save for a lone figure at the far end and a rowdy group of youngish men at the end closest to her. Gang tattoos covered the skin that she could see, and with alarm, she saw that they were making their way slowly towards her. Inwardly, she sighed. She was so tired, she just wanted to be left alone! But they were heading towards her more openly now and she knew a confrontation was inevitable. She got to her feet and braced her shoulder to one of the vertical handrails.

“Heyyyyy chica! What you doin’ all alone at this time of night? You want some company?” The clear leader of the group spoke with a leer on his face.

“I’m good thanks.” She leveled a cold stare at him. He strutted a couple feet closer and she inhaled.

“The lady said she’s good. Now get lost. Find another car.” The graveled voice came from directly behind her. To Lydia’s surprise, the group instantly reacted, backing out quickly, scrambling around each other to get to the doors at the end of the car. They were gone in moments. Lydia exhaled gently and turned thank the man for his trouble, only to find herself nose to clavicle with a gray henley and a very familiar scent. Lightening, earth, and honey filled her senses as she stepped back, gripping the handrail as a wave of dizziness washed through her. The henley was partially covered by an unzipped hoodie and a worn leather jacket. A tattoo peeked out of his collar and covered the right side of his neck. Freckles adorned his face. His defensive posture had eased only fractionally since the thugs’ retreat, and the hardened, battle ready aura he conveyed was only lessened by the concern in his warm brown eyes. The dizziness returned.

“Stiles?” Lydia squinted at him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, a gentle grin blossomed on the mans face.

“Hey Lyds”.

***

Stiles had not had a good day. There were too many people wandering about, work had been hellish, he’d got coffee stains on a brand new shirt, and all he wanted to do was to go home, take a shower, and crash. When he’d stepped onto the subway car, he’d immediately clocked the 7thSt thugs on the far end but kept his head down. Two gang confrontations in one day was bad enough, he didn’t feel like adding a third. He’d been going over the events of the day, trying to figure out what he had missed. He was so, so close to breaking the case he could feel it, but there was something he couldn’t quite grasp ahold of. In exasperation, he’d thudded his head back against the edge of the seat, and that’s when he finally noticed her. She was thin, too thin, and her once lucious red locks were stringy and tangled. He could smell her exhaustion from where he was sitting but concern was quickly overcome by raw fury when the scent of her absolute terror reached him. He sat straighter, studying her just as the 7thSt’ers started towards her. The anger faded partially, replaced with pride as she stood to meet them head-on, but rapidly returned as those punks threatened his Lydia. The vehemence with which his soul considered her ‘his’ surprised him, but he filed it away to be examined later as he stalked towards them. He recognized Chavez as the lead banger and, fortunately, Chavez recognized him as well. He flashed his eyes and was somewhat pacified by the fear he could instantly smell coming off of the group in waves.

“...get lost. Find another car.” Watching them clamber over and around each other in a hasty retreat didn’t do much to help his temperament. He’d started a hunt, and he wanted to finish it. But Lydia had turned and the haunted look in her eyes brought his protective instincts to the forefront. Her clothes were barely-decent rags, torn and filthy. She clearly hadn’t been eating enough and she swayed with fatigue.

“Stiles?” Her voice weak. He shoved his hands in his pockets in an effort to not scoop her up and take her somewhere safe, and grinned ruefully.

“Hey Lyds.” He saw her body give out before she knew it was coming and moved ahead of time, catching her as she lost consciousness. He listened to her heart, the pulse was a little erratic, but strong. Not enough food, not enough sleep. His stop was coming up, and Stiles shifted her around so that he could swing his backpack over one shoulder, and then, cradling her gently in his arms, he exited the subway. Glancing around, Stiles checked to make sure the station was empty before closing his eyes and summoning the breeze. It whirled around them, faster and stronger until suddenly, it stopped, and he was in his apartment building. He started climbing the stairs, taking them three at a time without effort.

“Sophie? I need you.” He remarked as he passed the second floor landing, continuing up to the third before exiting the stairwell and heading down the hall towards his apartment. A small, pale woman appeared in front of him and opened the door as he turned so he wouldn’t bump Lydia’s head on the doorframe.

“What happened to her?” Sophie questioned quietly as she opened the couch and made up the bed that unfolded from within it. Moving at inhuman speed, it only took her a few seconds. Stiles laid Lydia carefully on the couch-turned bed.

“Passed out, practically in my arms, I think it’s just exhaustion, malnutrition, and fear, I could smell her terror from the opposite side of the subway.” He watched as the vampire took Lydia’s finger in her mouth and bit gently. A heartbeat later and Sophie laid Lydia’s hand back down.

“You’re right, she’s anemic... and clearly hasn’t been sleeping... do you have any clothes we can put her in? These are filthy.”

“Yeah sure thing, just a sec.” Stiles moved into his bedroom and rustled around in his dresser, grabbing the first sweatshirt and sweatpants he came across. “Soph! Here, catch, Ima close the door, let me know when it’s safe to come out.” Doing as he said, Stiles sat on his bed and closed his eyes. He hadn’t been that close to losing it in years, and if Lydia’s current condition was anything to go by, he needed to get back in control, fast. He breathed deeply, concentrating on the heartbeat on the other side of the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Lydia woke to the smell of scrambled eggs and coffee permeating the room. Glancing around dazedly, she tried to identify where she was. Panic started to rise in her throat when she couldn’t recognize anything, but her eyes landed on a familiar red flannel shirt resting on broad shoulders. Stiles was at the counter, messing with something she couldn’t see, his back to her. She tried to sit up.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” His familiar voice warned her, just as her head started to explode.

“Where...?” Her voice was raspy, and she gave up on sitting, leaning back into the soft pillows. Stiles appeared silently beside her, a mug and a plate in his hands. He sat gently on the side of the bed next to her.

“You’re in my apartment, you’re safe. It’s okay. Here, drink some water, I’ve got scrambled eggs when you’re ready for them.” He handed her the mug, and the water did wonders for her pounding head. She tried sitting up again, slowly this time. Stiles reached behind her and readjusted the pillows so she could lean against the back of the couch. She tried not to scarf the eggs, knowing that she should take it slow after not eating for a couple days, but they were so delicious. When had Stiles learned how to cook so well? He had gotten up, and was busying himself around the small apartment as she ate. She got the impression he was watching her but every time she looked he was looking away. She set the plate aside and sighed.

“Feeling better?” He came over to retrieve the plate before it slid off onto the floor.

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for scaring those guys off. And for taking care of me after I fainted. I hate being such a damsel in distress.” Lydia frowned down at her fingers. Stiles scoffed.

“Damsels in distress don’t get up to face a bunch of gangbangers single handedly and you, Lydia, are about the least distressed damsel I have ever met. You’re a warrioress. And you didn’t faint, your body just plumb gave out. How long had it been since you slept or ate?”

“A warrioress? Hardly. Warrioress’ don’t need handsome rescuers to come in and save them.” Her eyes widened when she realized she’d just inadvertently called Stiles handsome, but mercifully, he let it slide.

“Even warrioress’ need a hand now and then, especially when they’re wounded. And I didn’t rescue you, I just beat you to the punch. Being a cop and all, I really didn’t wanna have to try and explain away a bunch of bodies being flung through the wall of a subway car.” He winked and the saucy smirk she remembered from the old days was back.

“You’re a cop?” She’d half thought he’d become a career criminal given some of the antics he’d gotten into during high school. He must have been thinking the same thing.

“Ironically, yeah. Undercover mostly. It’s why those guys backed off so quickly, they think I’m a higher up in one of their rival gangs. Not a friendly higher up either.” He laughed a little, but then his face grew serious. He sat back down on the edge of the bed.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on, now?” His eyes peered into hers, and she looked away first.

“You wanna tell me how come I’m not wearing the same clothes I came in?” She lifted her chin and looked him back in the eye.

“My neighbor’s a nurse,” He didn’t flinch, “I had her come in and check you, off the books. She changed your clothes while she was at it because yours were trashed. Lydia, what’s going on? Melissa’s frantic, Dad’s got APB’s out everywhere looking for you, and Scott’s furious.” He watched her intently.

“You talked to Melissa?” The panic came back. Stiles frowned.

“She practically raised me, I talk to her and dad every week. Why, what’s... hey what’s wrong?” He shifted to catch the mug she tossed to the side. Lydia frantically tried to unbury herself from the blankets cocooning her.

“I’m sorry, I have... I have to go.” She scrambled over the edge of the couch and headed towards the door, but Stiles was in front of her before she even knew he had moved.

“Lyds, Lydia!” He grabbed her arms gently but firmly. She huffed a small scream at him and knocked him back a couple strides but to her surprise, he kept his footing. He was completely still for half a moment, studying her carefully, before he dropped to his knees and tilted his head so his neck was exposed. The complete act of submission, from someone who was able to scare off six hardcore gang members with a single sentence, took her breath away and forced her to a standstill. “Lydia. No one knows where you are, except for you, and me. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to tell anyone where you are without your permission. And I swear on my mother’s grave that you will not come to harm while under my roof, or in my city.” The gravity in his voice is what finally did it. Lydia had been needing a good cry for days and his promise opened the floodgates. She sank towards the floor but he caught her and pulled her into him to keep her off of the cold hardwood. At some point he must have gotten up and carried her back over to the couch but she didn’t notice. He started handing her tissues from somewhere, and the mystery of where, is what brought the tears to an end. She blew her nose one last time and looked up into his face.

“Still think I’m not a damsel in distress?”

“Uhm, given the fact that you just knocked me halfway across the room without a second thought when I got in your space? Nah... You’re definitely a warrioress. An exhausted, emotionally drained warrioress, but a warrioress nonetheless. Besides, you feel better now, don’t you?” He raised an eyebrow at her. She laughed and shifted off his lap, sitting cross legged on the bed beside him.

“I feel a _lot_ better. I don’t suppose there are any more scrambled eggs?” Her face lit up expectantly. Stiles threw his head back and laughed.

“As you wish, m’lady warrioress.” He got up and busied himself in the kitchen.

“Sorry I screamed at you.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, I should have known better than to grab you like that. Anyways you didn’t hurt me.” His shoulders shrugged. Lydia wondered about that; she hadn’t been paying much attention in the moment, but she was pretty sure the amount of power she had put in that scream should have knocked him on his back. And he had left before she really came into her powers, how would he have known? Before she could ask, there was a knock at the door. Stiles didn’t turn. “Come on in Soph, its open!” He glanced at Lydia, “It’s my neighbor the nurse, she’s cool.” Lydia turned and faced the door as a petite woman with dark brown hair opened the door and walked in, smiling.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake, how are you feeling?”

“Much better thank you, Stiles made me some scrambled eggs, he’s making more right now.”

“Good! You certainly look better, is there anything you want me to check on while I’m here? I’m Sophie Dawson, I work at the hospital just down the street. I gave a cursory exam when Stiles brought you here, but does anything hurt, any concerns?”

“No,” Lydia smiled ruefully, “I just exhausted myself, that’s all. Stiles has been taking good care of me.”

“Alright, good, would you rather come stay with me until you’ve recovered? I know waking up in a strange man’s apartment couldn’t have been overly comfortable.” Sophie smiled gently. Lydia glanced worriedly at Stiles.

“She’s actually asked to stay here for a bit Soph.” Stiles interjected smoothly. “She’s got a stalker she’s trying to hide from, feels safer staying with a cop.” He brought two mugs over and handed one to each woman. Lydia nodded gratefully and sipped the tea.

“He’s right. If I stayed with you, I’d know he was in the building but...” She trailed off.

“But it’s not quite the same.” Sophie nodded. “Okay, that’s fine! Just let me know if you change your mind or need anything, I’m in the apartment directly below, just pound on the floor a couple of times and I’ll be up! Stiles, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Yeah, sure,” He looked at Lydia, “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” She sipped her tea again. Stiles and Sophie wandered into his bedroom for a few moments and Lydia took the time to examine Stiles’ apartment. The kitchen was to the left and facing the front door, and seemed surprisingly well-stocked with both cooking utensils and food. The single bedroom was on the same wall, and from what Lydia had seen before the door was closed, it was fairly neat. The couch she was on, currently made into a bed, was perpendicular to both, facing the wall to the right of the door, where a flat-screen tv was sitting on a low stand that held an extensive amount of DVD’s. Star Wars was the most prominently displayed. On the wall opposite the kitchen and bedroom sat three overflowing bookshelves. The entire apartment was neat, and comfortable, with a lived-in look. Lydia felt surprised somehow. It felt like a home. Stiles’ bedroom door opened and he and Sophie came out. Sophie peered at Lydia for a moment, but smiled. She nodded at Lydia and said goodbye to Stiles.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do, for either of you.” She waved at Lydia.

“See ya Soph.”

“Thank you Sophie! I will!” Lydia waved goodbye as Stiles sat down with another plateful of scrambled eggs.

“So,” He raised an eyebrow, “before you started assaulting my beautiful bod, I believe you were about to tell me what on earth is going on?”

“Why do you care?” The words would have sounded harsh if her voice hadn’t been so small.

“Lydia.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted it carefully, so that she was looking at him. “I may have left Beacon Hills, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have an idea of what’s been going on. I still care about you guys. If you had needed me, truly needed me, I would have come back like a shot. I almost did when the dead pool hit, but Dad and Melissa promised me they would tell me if I was needed.”

“I needed you. I needed you in Eichen House.”

“I was there.”

“What?”

“When you went into Eichen House, I was in the middle of finals. I had my phone turned off, I didn’t hear anything from anyone. I didn’t talk to Dad or Melissa for three weeks. When I finally listened to all my messages I came back as fast as I could. Lydia, I’m the one who got you out.”

“What?” Lydia shook her head. “No, Scott said he was the one... They had a whole plan.”

“Scott took credit. They did have a plan, a pretty good one too, but I beat them to the punch. I got you out, and I took you to Deaton’s, and I held you as you screamed. Did some pretty good damage to my eardrum, but it healed.”

“But, why didn’t you stay?”

“Coming back... it was too painful. I hadn’t forgiven myself for Allison yet, and I really didn’t want to face Scott. As soon as Deaton said you were stable, I took off again. I’m sorry. I should have stayed.”

“No, you did the right thing.” Lydia looked down and played with her fingers. “Scott... Scott lost himself to his grief over Allison. I think... I think she was his mate. He blamed everyone but he blamed you most of all. He still blames you. If he’d seen you he would have probably attacked you. Scott’s not... he’s still not right. He’s too controlling, I think he’s just trying to keep people safe but he’s gone so far overboard with it. His pack can’t go anywhere without his permission, do anything without his permission. The younger ones are basically limited to home and lacrosse and school and that’s it. Even the older ones, like Liam, his first beta, need to let him know what they’re doing at all times. Kira left years ago... Scott’s with Malia now but he’s still not... not right. And he’s obsessed with not killing anyone, even in self defense.” Something about the way she said that last sentence had Stile’s hackles up.

“Did you have to kill someone Lydia?” He tilted his head, trying to see around the mass of tangled hair shielding her face. She nodded. “Oh, Lydia, I’m so sorry.” He put his arm around her, and when she didn’t object or knock him across the room, he pulled her into a fierce hug.

“It was an accident. I was just trying to get away, I was scared. I screamed. Scott lost it. He yelled at me that I was a murderer, just like you. He broke the pack bonds between us. But he wouldn’t let me leave. He told me to stay in my house, that I couldn’t go anywhere and when he needed me, he would come get me. He said he couldn’t trust a murderer to wander around unsupervised. It wasn’t until the third day that I realized, without the pack bonds, he’d have to get my scent to track me. So I waited until it was dark and rainy... and I ran. And I just kept running. I didn’t have a plan, I just wanted to be free to live my own life, make my own choices. I stopped in Portland for a couple days, but five days after I had left, I heard his howl, he was so angry. So I ran again. I’ve been running ever since. I don’t even know where we are now. Stupid werewolves.” She took a couple deep breaths and Stiles could smell her grief mixed with anger. He huffed a laugh.

“Well, we’re in Detroit.” He told her.

Astonished that she had come so far, Lydia leaned back to look at him. Surprised with what she saw, she looked again. He had held her so tenderly, spoken so calmly, that if she hadn’t seen the pure rage in his eyes, she would never had known he was angry. She had never met someone with so much control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, Detroit doesn’t actually have a subway... but this started as a songfic based off of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing and massively evolved and now it’s forever going to be based in Detroit *facepalm*


	4. Chapter 4

The only thing keeping Stiles from heading straight to Beacon Hills and giving Scott a good thrashing, was the woman in his arms. Every fiber in his being was screaming that she was pack, and his pack was hurt. He sucked in a breath and reigned in his raging emotions, the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally force pack bonds onto her. She would never trust him again. Currently, Lydia was looking at him in wonder. He brushed a tangled lock out of her face.

“What’s going on in that head of yours Lyds?” He concentrated on her heartbeat, it was steady and sure, and it helped ground him.

“You’re angry, really angry but I only know because I can see it in your eyes. I couldn’t tell when you were holding me. Your voice is even, you aren’t tense...” She stared up at him with questioning eyes. He smiled.

“I’ve had a lot of really good reasons over the years to learn control.” Stiles’ cellphone rang, breaking the moment, and they drew apart. He looked at the caller ID and groaned. “Hang on,” he told her, then answered his phone. “Stilinski. What? When?” He growled under his breath. “Okay, I’m on my way.” He hung up the phone and looked at Lydia. “That was work, we’ve got a... problem, and I’ve gotta go. The apartment’s warded, the walls are lined with mountain ash, and Sophie’s just downstairs, are you gonna be okay?” He peered at her intently.

“I‘ll be fine. I _feel_ safe here, and like you said, Sophie’s just downstairs.” Lydia smiled and nodded. Stiles grinned.

“See? What did I tell you? Warrioress. Help yourself to anything, I’ve got the DVD’s plus pretty much all the streaming services available, the fridge is stocked and there’s cash and takeout menus in the cookie jar next to the landline in the kitchen. I’ll write down this address and my cell number if you need me. There are clean towels in the bathroom under the sink if you want to take a shower, and the dresser on the right, in my room, has an assortment of clean clothes of all sizes, I get a lot of people staying over.” He got up, wrote something on a pad and left it by the landline, then grabbed his leather jacket, and fished his keys out of a bowl sitting on the table. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?”

“Food, entertainment, shower. I think I’ll be alright.” Lydia’s sarcasm was coming back, that was a good sign. “Now get going! I don’t want you to get in trouble!”

“Alright, I’ll pop by Sophie’s place on the way out and let her know to listen for you. Come and lock the door behind me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He gave her a quick hug, then closed the door behind him. He waited until he heard all three locks being clicked into place before heading to the stairwell, jumping over the railing, and landing lightly on the second floor landing. A few seconds later, he was knocking at Sophie’s door. She opened it on the second knock. “I gotta get to work, we’ve got a gang war brewing on the east side. Red upstairs seems fine but keep an ear out for her knock will ya? Did you get my message out to everyone?”

“Of course I did.” Sophie seemed affronted. “No one is to disturb you or come by your apartment unless it’s an emergency, and I’m not to tell anyone you have a guest. Stiles, what is going on? Who is she?”

“I’ll tell you when I tell you. I’ve gotta go. Thanks Soph!”

***

When Stiles got home, he hadn’t even opened the door before the smell of Chinese takeout hit his nose, and made his mouth water. Walking into the apartment, he found a freshly showered Lydia wearing a pair of bright pink sweats and his Michigan U sweatshirt. The bed had been turned back into a couch, and she was sitting on it, daintily stuffing her face with chow mien, and watching Suits. Unopened takeout boxes sat on the coffee table in front of her, and his nose told him it was his regular order. Tossing his keys and badge on the table and shrugging his jacket off, he joined her on the couch and put up his feet, carefully avoiding kicking the food.

“Please tell me those boxes are for me?” He asked, leaning his head against the couch. She nodded, swallowing her mouthful and taking a drink before answering.

“I called the number on the Chinese menu, and they must have caller ID because they asked right away if I wanted your regular order. I figured you could always reheat it if you were home late.”

“God bless you. I haven’t eaten a thing since breakfast.” He reached forwards and grabbed one of the boxes, popping it open and digging in. “This is a great episode, can you turn the volume up?” Lydia obliged, and they immediately started arguing over who should be shipped with whom. When the episode had ended, the food was gone, and Lydia was done exclaiming over how much he was able to eat, she asked him how he’d ended up in Detroit, of all places.

“Well, I didn’t come straight here... I meandered around for a while, saw some sights, ended up in the middle of a pack war, sorted that out pretty quick, moved on. Ended up being an interim emissary for another pack, that was ridiculous, but it gave me a reputation and for a year and a half I just wandered around North America cleaning up messes made by idiot werewolves. The last job I took was about thirty minutes south of here... ended pretty badly, and I liked the survivors so I stuck around. Faked some papers and got into Michigan University.” He nodded towards the sweatshirt she was wearing. “Majored in English with an emphasis in Folklife and Folklore. Minored in criminology, finished in three years. Dad gave me a recommendation that got me hired by Detroit PD, and I went through the academy, which honestly was a cakewalk compared to the last few years. Got pulled out of the academy early because of my test scores and after a ridiculously short probation period on patrol, became the youngest officer ever to be promoted to detective in the history of the department. I’ve been doing that ever since. I work mostly undercover jobs, usually in the gang unit, but they bounce me around to wherever I’m needed.” He stretched, his shirt coming up enough to show some skin, and something else that caught Lydia’s eye.

“Is that why you have the tattoos? The gang unit?” She studied him.

“Oh that? Nah, that’s more of a reminder.” He shrugged.

“Of what?”

“That your past doesn’t have to repeat itself.” He looked at her, the sleepy contentment the food had left behind, gone completely.

“Can... can I see it?” Her voice was curious. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded and stood up. Shedding his flannel over shirt, and the tshirt underneath, he turned, so his back was to her. He heard her gasp quietly, and shift so she was standing immediately behind him.

“You can touch if you want, I’m not shy about it.” He looked over his shoulder at her, and saw awe in her eyes. He wasn’t surprised. It was a work of art, and well worth the pain involved in getting it to stay.

“It’s beautiful.” She breathed. It was a red, nine-tailed fox. Lydia circled Stiles, looking at every aspect of the tattoo. The fox’s head started on the right side of his neck, with its front paws resting on his right shoulder, as if it was hanging on, trying to whisper into his ear. Its body stretched down his back, its spine aligning with his own. The tails spiraled around, each one slightly shorter than the one before it. The longest reached up to his left shoulder and wound around his bicep. The next three wrapped around his left rib cage, almost reaching his abdomen. Two were wrapped around each other, curled on the fox’s back and two more appeared to wave aimlessly on his lower back. The last, and shortest, ended just under his right elbow on his ribs. Along both their spines, in black script, were the words _Nous protégèons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes_. He felt her fingertips and couldn’t suppress the shiver that rippled down his back. He heard her startle at the movement and repressed a chuckle.

“Sorry, you can put your shirt back on. Stiles, that’s gorgeous! How long did it take to get it done?” Her eyes were starry when he turned around to grab his tshirt.

“I don’t even know,” he laughed as he pulled the shirt over his head. “It seemed like forever, but it was worth it.” It had taken him a while to find a tattoo artist that catered to werewolves, but they had been extremely skilled at their work. He sat back down without the flannel and saw Lydia’s eyes shift to his arm and the part of the tattoo that peeked out from under his short sleeve. “You wanna pet it again, don’t you?” He offered his arm to her and she pounced forwards.

“It’s just so real looking!” She shoved his sleeve farther up his arm and poked at the tail that was now more visible. “How did they even _do_ that?”

“I don’t have a clue, but if you ever want a tattoo, I know where to take you.” He laughed again as she didn’t answer, too engrossed in her exploration of his bicep. Still grinning at her enthusiasm, he reached over, grabbed the remote, and started another episode.

***

Lydia’s mind was whirling. When she’d asked to see his tattoo, she’d expected Stiles to pull his collar down a little or lift his shirt slightly. She hadn’t expected him to take it off entirely. She certainly hadn’t expected him to be so... fit. The bulky outerwear she had, up till now, seen him in, hid a _very nicely_ toned body. But then she’d actually focused on the tattoo and it took her _breath_ away. She knew what it represented, how could she not? Her eyes watered at the sight of Allison’s family code on his spine. The fox’s fur was so real and soft looking, that she couldn’t help herself from reaching out and touching it. He had shivered and the muscles contracted underneath her fingers, making her jump. His chest rumbled in a quiet chuckle and she rolled her eyes. When he had offered her his arm to poke and prod she took full advantage of it, and wasn’t sure whether it was the tattoo or the muscle underneath she was so excited to touch. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind her manhandling him while he watched the next episode of Suits.

This was something she had desperately missed, she realized. Touch. For a while, in the wake of Allison’s death, the pack had touched each other constantly. They’d pile on top of mattresses and pillows on the Sheriff’s or Melissa’s living room floor. They’d sit overly close to each other in classes, so elbows and shoulders were always brushing. They’d sit _on_ each other at lunch. But as Scott grew worse, the touching stopped. Lydia couldn’t remember the last time she had just sat and held on to another human being. As the show went on, she stopped poking him and just loosely wrapped her hand around his arm. When he didn’t seem to mind, she started inching closer. She thought she had crossed a line when he moved his arm out of her grasp, but was pleased and surprised when he promptly wrapped it around her and easily shifted her closer, until she was pressed up against his side. His attention never left what was happening on the screen and she wondered if he was as used to constant contact as she was. Snuggling into him was easy, and it wasn’t long before she had fallen fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next several days quickly fell into a pattern. The ease with which Stiles inducted Lydia into his life astonished her. It was if he habitually took in strays and installed them into his everyday activities. Stiles wasn’t currently undercover and so worked hours that were closer to nine-to-five than he ever thought he’d get. He’d make breakfast for them in the morning, and then head off to work. Lydia was still physically weak from the lack of sleep and sustenance, and didn’t venture outside of the apartment, but Sophie, who worked nights, would usually pop in at some point in the late afternoon for some tea and chatter. Stiles had never told Sophie Lydia’s real name, so she went by Red, and rather enjoyed the anonymity.

In the evenings, Stiles would come home, and depending on how long his day was, they would either order takeout, or cook something together. Together meaning; Lydia sitting on the counter causing problems and snitching snacks as Stiles cooked something that was actually edible. Then, they’d pile on the couch, eat their dinner, and watch something. Whatever show or movie they chose, it would inevitably be paused several times as they debated; the characters, the plot, the historical inaccuracies, and everything in between. This was Lydia’s favorite part of the day. Stiles never seemed to mind how much of her ended up on his side of the couch. Sometimes she would just stretch her legs out and his hand would land on her ankle. Sometimes she would be curled against his side hiding her face in his shoulder as the aliens preformed some sort of probing procedure on the hero. Normal. For the first time in her life Lydia felt normal. She loved it.

It was the beginning of Lydia’s second week at Stiles’ when she finally felt like she was back to full health. In celebration, they decided to go out to the Chinese restaurant that had become their favorite go to for fast food. Lydia was able to rustle up some decent clothes from what she had taken to calling ‘the dresser of obscurities’ in Stiles’ room. The jeans didn’t fit quite right, but a long button down covered most of the problems. Fortunately her calf-length brown boots had survived relatively well, and Sophie had given her a jacket that was too big and was taking up space in Sophies closet. The ride on the subway was quick, and Lydia found it interesting to see the reactions Stiles got from the people around them. He was wearing a similar outfit to the one he wore that first night; faded black jeans, blue henley, dark red hoodie and a simple black leather jacket. Despite the relative space on the car, he stood, hands in his pockets, leaning against one of the stanchions just in front of her seat, seemingly unaffected by the jarring of the rails. His dark hair fell into his face messily. The fox’s head of his tattoo showed over his collar and his eyes were hard, darting around with constant vigilance. The other passengers left a wide berth around them, and Lydia couldn’t blame them. He looked dangerous. Tension gathered inside the car that was starting to feel much too small. Even she started to feel it, a strange sort of pressure, but then his eyes met hers and they softened. He took a deep breath, winked at her, and the tension vanished. Conversations started up again, although Lydia hadn’t noticed that they had ceased, and their stop was announced.

The restaurant was busy, and Lydia was disappointed, sure that there wouldn’t be a table for them. To her surprise an elderly Chinese woman came out from the back and grabbed Stiles in what looked like a bone crushing hug. He hugged back just as enthusiastically and they were led to a table in the back. Lydia looked at him quizzically and he smiled and shrugged.

“I got her grandson out of a tricky situation with a gang that used to run around here. She kind of adopted me after that.” He moved the conversation on quickly. The food was delicious as always, and Lydia was fairly certain she would burst if she ate one bite more, when the check came. She rested her hand on it before he could take it.

“Stiles, I can’t let you keep paying for everything, let me help!” She looked at him and pursed her lips. He laughed and moved her hand aside.

“First of all, I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not sure how you’re gonna do that... Scott can trace you if you use your cards. Secondly, it’s not a big deal Lyds. I’m a cop because I enjoy the work, I don’t actually need the dough. I made good money working as an emissary-for-hire and I made some great investments on top of that. I’m not strapped for cash by any means. Don’t worry about it.” He slipped a card into the folder and handed it back to the waiter before she could object again. “Ready to go?” He asked, when his card had come back. She nodded, and was secretly thrilled when he took her hand to help her out of the booth. It had been so long since someone had shown the inclination to take care of her that his thoughtful little gestures warmed her. He gave her his arm as they left the restaurant and started walking towards the entrance to the subway.

“You said you talk to your dad and Melissa every week, do you talk to anyone else from the old pack?” She wondered as they walked. He nodded slightly.

“Yeah actually, I... keep up with a few. Erica and Boyd are actually only about an hours drive from here...” He stilled suddenly. She looked up at his face, surprised both by his words and his actions, and saw him tilt his head subtly in a very canine gesture. “Blast.” He grabbed her hand and changed directions, walking hurriedly towards an alleyway that was nearby, talking quietly as he did so. “Lydia, there’s about to be an issue, and under normal circumstances I would have no problem with you joining in and knocking heads, but I’m trying to keep the level of awareness about the supernatural to a minimum, in this neighborhood particularly, and someone is definitely gonna notice a banshee’s scream, so if you could hold off with the power vocals until absolutely necessary that would be great.”

“Stiles, what...”

“Shh.” He stopped about halfway down the alley, pulling her behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Sorry, shoulda told you but I didn’t want to scare you off. Keep your back to the wall.” He faced forwards and braced himself. Peering around him, Lydia saw why. Two werewolves were facing them, shifted, and tensed for attack. She started to speak, asking him to let her deal with it, but before she could get the words out, he spoke.

“This isn’t your territory. Who are you and what are you doing here?” He started to stroll towards them. The tension from the subway car was back, tenfold.

“We’re just passing through town. We were worried you might not be alone and try to attack us. No harm, no foul.”

“Really? Because I’ve been smelling you two all over the city for the past three days. That’s an awful long time to be just passing through.” He stopped about ten feet away from them; an easy jump for a werewolf to make. Without warning, one of them did. Lydia decided that it was _absolutely necessary_ and inhaled quickly but to her shock, Stiles used one hand to grab the wolf out of thin air and easily throw him to the side. Making use of his momentum, he spun around and kicked the second wolf as it charged. It flew back, but recovered quickly and came at him again. Lydia stared as he grappled with the thing, blocking each swipe and getting in several of his own. From where she was standing, she could see the light bouncing off of his claws, but he still hadn’t shifted, a testament to the self control she was already stunned by. She heard something behind her and whirled, realizing too late that she had neglected to keep her back to the wall. The first wolf who had charged was standing behind her, only a few feet away. His eyes gleamed a bright blue.The sound of a wolf whimpering in pain reached her ears but she couldn’t turn to see if it was Stiles. _Absolutely necessary_ had definitely come. She inhaled, and a powerful blast of wind swept past, coming from behind her. The winds were strong, and loud enough that she had to clap her hands over her ears, and the edges of her clothes whipped, but they never touched her. The wolf flew backward with enough force that he was embedded into the brick wall behind him. The winds stopped instantly. Lydia turned around to see Stiles, one hand holding the second wolf up by the throat, the other outstretched towards her. He scanned her quickly, looking for damage, before turning to the wolf in his grasp.

“Take your friend, and _get out of my city_.” Stiles dropped the werewolf, who crumpled to the ground, and then crawled over to his partner. After a few struggles, he pulled him out of the brick, and they were gone. Stiles walked slowly back towards Lydia, giving her space. His claws retracted and he stood in front of her.

“You’re a werewolf.” She whispered. His eyes glowed and she gasped. “You’re an alpha!” Her mind whirled as Stiles pulled his phone out of his hip pocket and hit speed dial.

“Pack meeting. _Now.”_ He hung up. “Lydia, do you still trust me?” His face was somber. Lydia’s mind jumped back to that first day, when this man, this wolf, this _alpha_ had kneeled before her, allowing himself to be totally vulnerable, and sworn not to hurt her. Her answer was immediate.

“Of course I do.” She smiled gently up at him. He returned her smile with a grin, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Then hold on.”

***

When the winds stopped swirling and Lydia opened her eyes, she found herself in a large, comfortably furnished warehouse. There were around twenty people milling about, some sitting on chairs, or the arms of chairs, or on other people. Everyone turned to look at Stiles when they arrived. Stiles unwrapped himself from Lydia and whispered into her hair.

“Go to Sophie, please.” He nodded to the brunette, who was sitting on the arm of an enormous, overstuffed armchair. Lydia nodded. It was very clear to her that his impeccable control was just about shot. Stiles waited until Sophie had squeezed into the chair with her, before pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing deeply. “Does somebody wanna explain to me why I wasn’t informed that there were two rogue werewolves running around my city?”

“I mean, you told us not to bother you unless it was an emergency, boss.” A skinny man in a suit responded.

“And _two_ rogue werewolves, doesn’t count as an emergency? Not to mention the fact that the 7thSt’ers scents are running all over our turf.” Stiles put his hands on his hips. “What _does_ count as an emergency then?”

“Well, they’re not rogues Stiles, and anyways we took care of the 7thSt’ers, chased their mangy butts back to their side of town.”

“Alright, so if they’re not rogues, then why did they up and attack me twenty minutes ago? And what _are_ they?”

“Wait,” this time a woman stood up, “They attacked you?”

“Yeah, with no provocation beyond asking who they were. Sent’em packing. Again, what are they, if not rogues?”

“They’re bounty hunters.” A second man responded. A chill ran down Lydia’s spine. Stiles frowned.

“I’m sorry, what? Who are they looking for?”

“I dunno, some alpha over on the west coast misplaced his banshee.” The second man chuckled, as did a few of the others. “He’s worried about her, so he apparently put up a reward for any information on her.” Stiles stilled, then glanced over at Lydia.

“Was there a description? Of the banshee?”

“Yeah, they said they had one, but I never heard it.” The rest of the pack agreed with him. Stiles moved faster than Lydia had ever seen him move. He grabbed the scruff of two wolves near him and started shouting orders.

“You two, come with me, Sophie! Take care of Red, _do not_ leave her side! Jesse, Mark, Angela, Issac, patrol the warehouse do not let _anyone_ but pack into it, the rest of you _stay here!”_ He disappeared with the two wolves in a whirl of winds. The pack, rushing to obey their alpha’s orders, glanced at her as they passed by. The ones who were told to stay inside, including Sophie, openly stared at her. She debated for a moment, trying to decide how to handle the situation, and ultimately decided to go with classic Lydia.

“What are you staring at?”

“Well, I’d imagine they’re staring at the woman who’s got our beloved alpha all in a tizzy.” Said a woman’s voice from behind her. Lydia knew that voice. She jumped out of the chair and spun around.

“Kira!” Lydia hugged the laughing woman she hadn’t seen in years. “How are you? Where have you been? What are you doing here?” She pulled back and held Kira at arms length, studying her.

“I’ve been here for about five years. I was traveling around after the skinwalkers were done with me and I bumped into Stiles. He asked me if I wanted to join his pack, and I liked it here, so I did!” She hugged Lydia again, and whispered into her ear, “It’s Scott isn’t it? He’s after you?”

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded, pursing her lips.

“Well we’ve got your back. Don’t you worry. Have you met Sophie? She’s a vampire.”

“You’re a vampire?” Lydia stared for a moment. “I never read about vampires in the bestiary, how come you never came up?”

“Because we’re better at staying a secret than the wolves are.” Sophie laughed at some of the grumbles coming from said wolves.

“But, you’re a nurse! Isn’t that hard on you? To be around all that blood?” Lydia engaged research mode as questions filled her brain.

“If somebody waves a hamburger in front of your face, are you going to savagely attack it ‘till it’s gone?”

“Well, no...” Lydia frowned.

“It’s the same concept. Working at hospitals is for vampires, what working at McDonalds is to humans. You smell food all day, but also, you know it’s not healthy food, so you’re not really planning on going nuts in the french fry department. Also, I don’t sparkle, and sunlight doesn’t kill me, just makes me a little weaker.”

“What about a wooden stake through the heart?”

“Well who wouldn’t that kill?”

“Garlic?”

“Is delicious, but don’t eat too much before a date.”

“Do you age?”

“No, that one’s actually accurate. Any more questions?”

“Several.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love guys! I’m gonna start trying to update every Friday :)


	6. Chapter 6

Despite Lydia’s interrogation of Sophie, it was a tense hour that passed before Stiles and his minions returned in a twist of air. He found her eyes instantly and shook his head. Kira squeezed her shoulder.

“We lost them in the subway. And they could’ve called him before we even started looking, they had enough time. I should have guessed.” He kicked an armchair and sent it flying across the room. Fortunately one of the other wolves caught it before it was able to do any damage. Lydia shook her head.

“There was no way you could have known and we both know it. I should go. He’ll be on his way, and I’m not bringing trouble to you and your pack.”

“You _are_ my pack.” His response was immediate.

“We were pack, once, I’m not barging into what you’ve got now just because I’m in trouble.”

“No Lydia,” his voice softened and he moved in front of her, looking her in the eye. The rest of the pack was silent, eyeing them both. “You are my pack _now._ Every fiber of my being knows it. I can’t tell you how difficult it’s been to keep my wolf from pushing the pack bonds onto you because we recognize you _as pack_ and you’re not bonded and _that’s wrong_ because it leaves you _vulnerable._ You. Are. Pack. And pack stands with pack.” Stiles’ eyes glowed ruby and she felt the banshee in her rise to the surface. She broke eye contact and shook her head to escape the pull of the alpha.

“What about the rest of your pack?” She gestured around them, “You’re going to let someone you haven’t seen in ten years endanger everyone else? What do they have to say about that?” To her surprise her question was greeted with chuckles. She glanced around to see expressions of amusement surrounding her. Stiles outright laughed.

“Excuse me Red,” the man Stiles had called Mark addressed her, “but we’re one of the most powerful packs on the continent... I don’t know exactly what’s going on here, but we all trust Stiles with our lives, mostly because he’s saved them all on multiple occasions. He puts our needs before his, he’s always ready to help in whatever ways we need. There’s not a single person in this pack that’s not ready to live and die for him, because that’s what he does for us. And if he says you’re pack, then we’ll fight for you too. Because that’s what pack is.” Murmurs of agreement came from every corner of the warehouse. Lydia looked around at them all, and then back at the man who had earned such loyalty and devotion.

“Hey,” Stiles said, “if I thought for one moment that Scott or his pack was a threat, I’d be the first to send mine underground. But he’s not.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because our pack is twice as big as his. Because every pack within a hundred miles of here is a sworn ally. Because I’m not just a werewolf. Because I’m an alpha through two species. Because I know him. It’s gonna be fine Lyds. Scott’s gonna show up, and you’re gonna rip him to shreds. Figuratively or literally, I don’t really care which. And I’m gonna be at your back. And they’re gonna be at mine. It’ll be okay.” He raised his eyebrows slightly and stared at her. “Okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded and allowed a small smile. He grinned

“Okay crew, here’s what’s going down...” He started explaining the details of who Lydia was, and what she was doing there. Lydia watched as his pack listened attentively, faces calculating as they took in the information. What had happened in the near-decade that Stiles was gone, that he had gained so many loyal friends and family? She could see that now. They were a family.

“Lydia.” The voice came from behind her again. Lydia knew this voice too, and she hadn’t heard it in a decade. She looked over her shoulder and gasped. There stood Allison. Smiling Allison. Alive Allison. Grown-up Allison. Transparent Allison?

“Allison?” Lydia’s voice was hoarse. Allison nodded, still smiling. Lydia surged forward to hug her, but then stopped as she thought of a very viable reason for Allison to be transparent. “Are you...” Lydia licked her lips, “are you a ghost?” Allison laughed.

“Isn’t _that_ the question of the century? You’ll have to ask Stiles, but in the meantime, I am _very_ huggable.” As she spoke, Allison’s body filled in, and Lydia could no longer see the chair that was behind her, _through_ her. She surged forwards again and Allison met her half way. How she had missed those hugs.

“Ah, was wondering when you were going to show up.” Stiles’ voice brought them back to reality and she pulled back to look at him.

“I was waiting for the opportune moment. I didn’t want to freak her out by suddenly appearing.” Allison answered him.

“Stiles,” Lydia said, “what, exactly, is Allison doing here?” She eyed him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly “So... there was this incident, with, like a witch, and zombie Allison, and several complications, and there were like, four things?... also a lizard. Anyways we got everything sorted out, except that Allison, just sorta, stayed? And like, hung around, but also is aging? I’m still not entirely sure what happened.”

“Basically, we think that I’m half-human/half-ghost, because like Stiles said, I’m aging, but also I can become insubstantial at will? And also I don't need to eat or sleep.”

“On the bright side,” Stiles chirped, “now that Lydia’s here we should be able to figure it out! We always did make a good research team!” Allison laughed and Lydia joined in.

“Stiles?” Something in Stiles’ eyes changed at the interruption and he swung around to look at Sophie, who was standing dejectedly behind him, nervously wringing her fingers.

“Soph? What’s wrong?” There was an edge to his voice that Lydia couldn’t place, and it took her a moment to realized that this was Alpha Stiles speaking.

“I know there’s other things going on right now, obviously, but... it’s Erik. He showed up at work again as I was getting off this morning and... I don’t know what to do anymore! He refuses to let go!” Her lower lip trembled despite her trying to keep it still and Stiles instantly threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. He leaned his head down and looked into her face.

“You want me to deal with it?”

“I don’t know... I just... If Issac finds out, and I don’t want to cause more trouble and... and...” She lost the battle with her tears as two of them ran down her face. Allison leaned over and whispered an explanation into Lydia’s ear.

“Erik is her ex, a real nasty piece of work, and another vampire. He’s older than her though, so he has more strength in the daytime than she does. He’s been stalking her the last few months, ever since she broke up with him. Didn’t take it well. Issac gets a little... overprotective.” Stiles had Sophie tucked underneath his arm and was murmuring reassurances into her hair. She took a few minutes to calm down, and when she did, he pulled away a little so he could look at her easier.

“Alright, when’s your next shift?”

“Tuesday... why?”

“When you get ready to leave, you text me, and I’m gonna come and bring you home. If Erik shows up again I will make sure he knows that he’s messing with _my_ pack. No more worrying, okay?” He smiled softly at her. She nodded, and smiled a small smile back.

“Thank you. Stiles.” He pulled her back into a hug and pressed a quick kiss into her hair.

“Hey, I’m the alpha, this is the whole reason I’m here. Next time don’t wait so long before telling me something’s wrong okay?” Sophie smirked a little, the knowledge that Stiles was going to take care of it clearly reassuring her back into her spunky self.

“Yes, Dad.”

“Alright alright smart Alec... Go stop Kira from slicing that couch in half would you? We’ve gotta get her a dojo to practice her katana stances in.” Sophie slipped off towards Kira as Stiles motioned Issac over. Issac winked to Lydia and mouthed a quick “Hi” to her before directing his attention to Stiles.

“Are you two still together?” Lydia whispered to Allison.

“Nah, he’d moved on, had a couple girlfriends by the time I was brought back, which is totally what I’d wanted him to do so that’s fine. We’re still super close though, we even share an apartment.”

“I thought you didn’t need to sleep?”

“I don’t, but I still need my own space. I have an office instead of a bedroom, I keep most of the pack research there where Stiles won’t lose it, and I do a lot of reading during the night... unless I’m hanging out with Sophie when she’s not working.” They were interrupted by a strangled exclamation by Issac and looked up to see that Stiles had clapped one hand over Issac’s mouth and was gripping his shoulder tightly with the other.

“I told you _not_ to overreact. I’m not any happier about it than you are but you need to calm down before I _order_ you to stay out of it.” Issac struggled for a moment more before breathing hard through his nose and relaxing his posture, waiting a beat before nodding to Stiles. Stiles kept his hands on Issac for a moment more before letting go. “Alright, now Sophie’s going to text me when she’s getting ready to leave and I’m going to walk her home. You can come with me as long as you can hold it together. I’m not willing to start a war with the vamps because you lost it in a confrontation with a packmate’s possessive ex. If I’m going to start a war with them it’s gonna be because _I_ lost it in a confrontation with a packmate’s possessive ex. Understood?”

“Understood.” Issac nodded. Stiles reached up and ruffled Issac’s hair, then cuffed him lightly on the shoulder.

“Good, now go give that woman a hug before someone else does.” He grinned at Issac as the latter twisted his lips and attempted to fix his ‘do.

“Ahh Daaaaaaad... You messed up my hair!” Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Who... me? Psh, that’s not messy, _this_ is messy!” Striking like lightning, Stiles wrapped one arm around Issac’s neck, pinned him to his side and started throughly destroying the time and effort that Issac had obviously put into his hairstyle. No matter how much Issac struggled, he couldn’t seem to break free of Stiles’ grip.

“Gahhhh let go let go let go!” Issac whined. Stiles just laughed maniacally.

“Keep calling _me_ ‘dad’ will you? This is what you get!” He dodged a swipe from Issac’s foot, somehow still managing to keep ahold of him. Allison cackled gleefully, looking very much like she wanted to join in; and as much as Lydia wanted to join in, wanted to hug Issac and find out where he’d been, wanted to take Allison and hold her for a year and find out what she’s been doing all this time as a human/ghost, something else entirely had occurred to her.

“Stiles.” The tension in her voice had his eyes whipping to meet hers. He dropped Issac abruptly, pausing only a moment to haul him back up, and came over to her. Allison’s brows furrowed as she stared at Lydia as well. “Earlier, when you were telling me that I was pack, you said you have to work to keep yourself from forcing pack bonds onto me. Could Scott do that? To get me back?” Stiles frowned as she spoke.

“Yeah, yeah he could, I mean, if he’s learned how to do it, but it’s not that hard. He’d need to get you in his sights first; you have to be able to see the person you’re bringing into the pack, forced or not.”

“I’m tired of just running and hiding! I shouldn’t have to! I’m a third generation banshee and I shouldn’t have to hide from some True Alpha just because he’s got his panties in a twist! Isn’t there anything we can do to keep him from forcing the bonds back onto me?” She crossed her arms in defiance. Stiles’ head waggled side to side as he considered.

“Off the top of my head, the only thing I can think of, is if you accept the bonds of another pack. Forced bonds can only be used against the unbonded or someone willing.”

“Someone willing? If someone’s willing, how can the pack bonds be forced?”

“It’s generally used in abusive situations. Take... Joe. Joe’s in a pack, and it’s an abusive pack. Another Alpha passes by and notices the abuse. If Joe is willing, the other Alpha can force his own bonds onto Joe, breaking the abusive packs’ bonds in the process, and freeing Joe. It doesn’t happen very often because packs tend to stay out of each other’s territories, and it takes a massive amount of energy to do it. But it is possible. You, however, wouldn’t be willing, so if you’re already bonded, Scott wouldn’t be able to do it anyways.” She could see a tint of red flowing into his eyes.

“Will you accept me into the pack bonds?”

“What a silly question.” At a nod from Stiles, the pack came and surrounded them, standing in a circle, shoulder to shoulder. Lydia could feel the energy of the room intensify. She looked at Stiles again and his eyes were scarlet. When he spoke his voice took on a deeper, almost doubled effect and she could feel the power of an Alpha surrounding her.

“Lydia Lorraine Martin. Do you, of your own free will consent to join the Stilinski Pack? To call it your own, to protect it as your own, to care for and be cared for, to watch over and be watched over? To be Pack?” As he talked, Stile’s eyes changed from scarlet to emerald, with silver, orange, and sapphire streaks dancing across them. Lydia gasped. As she listened to his words, and felt them filling her with his power, his eyes started flipping back and forth between the wolf red, and the streaked emerald, faster and faster.

“I do. I consent to joint the Stilinski Pack. I promise to protect it, to care for it and watch over it. I consent to be protected, cared for and watched over. _I_ _am pack!”_ She felt a cementing in her soul, where she could not only feel the power of the pack, but feel each individual member. She could _feel_ Stiles. She could feel Kira, Sophie too, and oddly enough Allison; and all the others whose names she had yet to learn. The bonds with Scott had never been like this. The pack spoke, each individual voice saying the same welcome.

“Lydia Lorraine Martin. We accept you into our pack, we trust you with our lives. Welcome.”

There was silence for a moment, before Stiles threw his head back and howled. The pack joined in and Lydia could feel a gentler version of the banshee call being pulled from her throat. This, however, was no death song, and she let it free, joining the song of her pack. The howls rang through the night, and a breathless, jovial quiet followed.

“Well. You’re doubly bound now. I’d like to see Scott break _that!”_ Stiles’ voice was brimful with smug satisfaction. Kira walked over and swung Stiles’ arm around her neck, leaning into him. Lydia didn’t think he even noticed as he studied his new packmate.

“Personally, I think this calls for celebratory food.” Kira said, reaching into Stiles’ hip pocket and snitching his wallet before dancing away and pulling out her cell. Stiles rolled his eyes fondly, not even bothering to comment as Kira started ordering pizzas by the ton on his credit card. He was still watching Lydia, and when she looked into his eyes she saw only the familiar brown twinkle.

 _“You_ have some major explaining to do. What does ‘doubly bound’ mean? And what on _earth_ was with your _eyes?”_ She tilted her head as she studied him. He laughed.

“Later Lyds, I’ll explain later, for the moment, just get used to being in the pack.” Lydia was about to respond when Issac suddenly appeared out of thin air.

“ _Attack of the hair revenge_!” He bellowed as he leapt onto Stiles’ back and started violently tousling his hair. Stiles had barely budged when Issac jumped him, and now he tried to fight his smile as he looped his arms around Issac’s knees, effectively carrying him piggyback as Issac continued his attempt at messing Stiles’ hair. Lydia felt it would have been a lot more effective if Stiles’ hair hadn’t been messy in the first place. Mark, one of the other members of the pack, noticed what was going on and, with a whoop, jumped the both of them from the side, wrapping his arms around Issac’s neck and his legs around Stiles’ shoulders. To Lydia’s amazement, Stiles remained standing, but now he was laughing and it was obviously getting more difficult to keep his balance.

“ _ALPHA PILE_!” Someone hollered, and without hesitation, the pack swarmed. Stiles went down in a tangle of arms, legs, and laughter. Someone, and Lydia strongly suspected that it was Allison, shoved her into the throng and Lydia found herself buried halfway under Issac, who had somehow managed to maneuver to the topish of the pile despite being the instigator of the attack in the first place. Fortunately, he apparently remembered that banshees didn’t have supernatural strength, and balanced on his elbows, holding the others on top of them up so she wasn’t being squished. Someone squealed, it sounded like Kira, and the mass of supernatural creatures started squirming as people apparently started getting tickled. This started the laughter anew and it took several minutes before they could sort themselves out. Even then, it was still a massive puppy pile, and Lydia sighed in gentle glee as she rested her head on someone’s stomach and played thumb wars with Sophie, who had ended up half under her. Looking around, she realized that everyone else was similarly entangled, and just as happy to stay put; Stiles most of all, as he was still on the bottom of the pile and had at least five people wrapped around, under, and on top of him. Lydia quietly listened to the new bonds and could feel the entire pack’s utter contentment. The peace lasted until there was a knock on the door, and the smell of pizza started emanating through the cracks. A general stampede followed, coupled with hilarity as people fell over in the attempt to jump up while still partially underneath someone else; supernatural grace and reflexes apparently fleeing in the face of pizza. Stiles remained flat on his back, spread-eagle on the floor, complaining about being abused, and Lydia, also still on the floor, started laughing. She surprised herself when she couldn’t stop, and promptly fell over again, clutching her sides as tears streamed down her face with her laughter in an entirely undignified manner.

“Well, it’s official.” Stiles called out. “Lydia’s lost it.” He lifted his head and looked at her, eyes twinkling as her laughter finally subsided into giggles.

“It’s just, you’re so ridiculous. And so you. I hadn’t realized how much I missed ridiculous you.” She got out between gulping air and giggles. Stiles rolled back onto his hands and threw himself onto his feet in a kip up, and came over to help her to her feet.

“Oh, I’m this ridiculous all the time, you’ve just haven’t seen it because I’ve been in alpha-mode.” He threw an arm around her neck and towed her towards the coffee tables that were now filled with pizza boxes. The pack squeezed into, onto, and around the two couches and two giant armchairs that were placed around the coffee tables. Once they had gotten their pizza, Stiles squashed himself in between Issac and the arm of a couch, throwing one arm across Issac’s shoulders, and Lydia swung herself onto his lap, stretching her legs out across both Issac’s lap, and the lap of the werewolf sitting next to him. Stiles set his plate into her lap so he could eat with one hand, and they both set to. It took a few moments before Lydia noticed just how automatic it had been for her to engage in the pack cuddles. Looking around she realized that somehow, the pack bonds had cemented a new normal into her. Casual touch between packmates was a given now, and Lydia never wanted it to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holler if you caught the Doctor Who reference in there ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Stiles utterly refused to answer any of her questions until they were back at his apartment and safely locked in. He turned to look at her and saw her standing with her hands on her hips glaring at him.

“So it seems that _somebody_ forgot to mention a few _details_ when they were telling me how they ended up in Detroit. Something about how they were _turned into a_ _werewolf_ perhaps? Or maybe how they came to be an _alpha?_ Or what is _going on with their eyes?”_ She seemed annoyed and Stiles thanked his lucky stars that she didn’t appear to be angry of frightened; mostly just curious. He rubbed his neck, feeling sheepish.

“We-ell... to be fair, you asked how I ended up in Detroit, and I was a werewolf before I left Beacon Hills.” Lydia stared at him, then turned and walked over to the couch, sitting down and making herself comfortable.

“I can see that this is going to be a longer explanation than I thought. Sit down and start from the beginning. How long have you been a werewolf?” Stiles followed her, making himself comfortable as well. He was relieved when she stretched out her legs and put them in his lap, she couldn’t be _that_ mad at him if she was still willing to touch him.

“I’ve been a werewolf for as long as you’ve been a banshee. Peter bit me the same night he bit you, but if you want to start at the beginning, we gotta go further back than that.” He wrapped a hand around her ankle and absentmindedly rubbed his thumb along her skin.

“Okay... how far?” She furrowed her brows.

“Pretty much to when I was born. Okay, look, did you ever come across Elements in the bestiary?” He watched her face as she frowned in concentration.

“Yeah, I think so... they were humans who were chosen by the four elements to be able to control them?” He nodded.

“Exactly. Usually four or five times a generation, each of the four elements, Water, Earth, Air and Fire, choose someone worthy to wield power over that element. For the rest of their life, that person can control whatever element they were chosen by, and they call themselves Elements.”

“So that’s what you are? An Element?” She tilted her head, and he could see her trying to fit the pieces together.

“Not quite. See, Elements are made, not born; unless very specific conditions are met. If someone is born, who is a direct descendent of four separate Elements, one of each, including a parent, they will have the power to control all four elements from birth. They’re called Elementals. My mom was a fire Element, her dad was an air Element. His dad was a water Element, and his mom was an earth Element. Because I had all four Elements in my direct lineage, I was born an Elemental. I can control all four elements. That’s why my eyes are so whack.” He let his eyes shift so she could see them again. She leaned forwards, peering intently in concentration. “Their main color is green because that’s what all Element’s eyes are, but the streaks represent each of the four elements that I can control. And because we’re so rare, all Elementals are what we would call alphas. It’s always been a natural need for me to create a pack of my own. Being in Scott’s pack alleviated that need a little, but I could still feel the pull to bind everyone to me. It’s a protection instinct. That’s why I said you were double-bound. I bound you into my pack as a wolf, but I also bound you into my pack as an Elemental. Everyone in my pack is double-bound.” His eyes shifted back to human-brown. Lydia tilted her head in thought.

“Is that why I can feel you? Feel all of you? If I close my eyes and concentrate on someone, it’s almost as if I can _see_ where they are in relation to me. I couldn’t do that in Scott’s pack.”

“Yeah. In a wolf pack, Alphas can pull power from their pack, in an Elemental pack, the power lines are open to anyone. If someone’s in trouble, I can feed them my power, or they can pull it from me, or anyone else. You can also communicate pretty well just by concentrating.” Her eyes widened and her lips tilted up a little at one corner.

“How do I do that?”

“Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Calm your mind.” Lydia did as he said, evening her breathing and keeping her eyes closed.

“Now, envision a line, stretching from you to each person in the pack.”

“Okay.” Lydia nodded.

“Find the one that stretches to me, but don’t touch any of the other ones.” He sent a little power pulse down his own line that reached to Lydia to make it easier for her to find his.

“Oh! Got it!” Her face lit up with a smile. Stiles grinned too.

“Okay, now see yourself grasp it loosely, and _push_ a thought back down it.” In a moment, he could feel her small “Hi” reaching him, along with a sense of satisfaction and happiness. She opened her eyes.

“Did you get it?”

“Hi to you too!” Stiles laughed. Lydia clapped her hands and sat back.

“Okay, that was really cool, but you’re not done explaining things... how come nobody noticed you were a werewolf back home? Or an Elemental for that matter. And how did you become an Alpha?”

“Well the first part was simple, albeit exhausting. I was constantly manipulating the winds to make sure they were always blowing my scent _away_ from inquisitive noses. As for being an Alpha... remember how I said my last job as Emissary-for-hire ended badly?” Lydia nodded.

“The Alpha had lost his mind and there was a massive in-pack war. He was killing his own pack members for the power boost and got addicted to it. I came in to see if I could help him regain control but he was too far gone. It had been a pretty large pack, and there were only five wolves left alive, all of them pretty weak. The Alpha started to go after them, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen, so I took him down. Took me about a week to recover, but by then, I had I realized that I’d gotten his Alpha powers. Like I said before, I liked the survivors so I was willing to stick around, but also I felt responsible for them. If I’d come earlier maybe there would have been more of them. Either way, I wasn’t about to leave them in the lurch, so I stayed. The pack’s been growing ever since.”

“Including vampires, ghosts and kitsune apparently.”

“Not to mention a banshee.” Stiles smiled at her. “But in all seriousness Lydia, the bonds are to keep you safe from Scott, you don’t have to stay with us if you don’t want to, you can go find a new home wherever you want it.” She studied him for a minute, then licked her lips.

“What if... I want it to be here?” Stiles’ heart lurched and he took a quick breath before reigning his racing mind back in. _She just means staying with the pack_ , he chided himself.

“I’d love it. I own this building, and about half of the pack lives here, we can find you an apartment that fits you.” Lydia bit her lip, then nodded. Squirreling herself around, she tucked herself underneath his arm and stretched out. He shifted his legs onto the couch to accommodate her.

“I’ve missed this.” She murmured. “Pack cuddles. I’ve missed having an Alpha who actually cares. Scott was so focused on keeping people alive that he forgot to actually take care of the individuals.” Her breath started evening out. “How long do you think we have until he gets here?” Stiles took a deep breath. _Alpha, yeah, I can do that... I’m good at being the Alpha_.

“Probably a few more hours, unless he decided to run the whole way, which I wouldn’t put past him. He’s not always the brightest is he? Go ahead and get some sleep, you’ll probably need it.”

“What about you?” Her voice was slow, and he wondered at her ability to sleep on demand. Then again, it _was_ almost four o’clock in the morning.

“I’ll sleep too. Don’t worry.” He felt her sigh, and then her breaths were even. He let their rhythm start to lull him to sleep and wondered when, exactly in the last twenty-four hours he had fallen in love with her again. He didn’t think he was feeling like this yesterday. Then again, he mused, maybe he’d never fallen out of love with her. Maybe it had just taken a few days to resurface and mature. She was staying though, he reminded himself as he fell into the abyss of unconsciousness. Maybe there was hope.

***

They were woken by the sound of Stiles’ cell ringing. Stiles pulled his head up from where it was hanging off the arm of the couch with a start and a snort, feeling extremely grateful that his accelerated healing meant that the crick in his neck wouldn’t exist for long.

“Yeah?” He yawned into the receiver. Issac’s voice cut through his sleepiness.

“The pack’s in town. They’re scattered, following our trails. I give it an hour before they find the warehouse. We’re on their tails. Also I’m to tell you that Allison left some ‘Power Shoes’ on your doorstep for Lydia.”

“Alright, I’ll tell her. We’ll be there soon.” He looked down at Lydia who was still tucked underneath his arm. “The pack’s arrived, Issac says we’ve got maybe an hour before they make it to the warehouse. Also Allison apparently left some Power Shoes on our doorstep for you?” Lydia’s eyes widened and a calculating smile appeared on her face before she used his chest as a launching pad to clamber over him and get to the front door. “Agh! Ow! Woman! What?” He found himself on his hands and knees on the floor and shook himself before standing up. Lydia had the door open and was clutching something to her chest protectively.

“You said we’ve got an hour before the pack arrives?”

“Yeahhhh...?” He watched her, amused and a little wary.

“Good. I’m going to go take a quick shower and change.” She scurried off and disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door decidedly behind her. Stiles blinked.

“Whaaa?” Shaking his head, he ambled over to find something to eat, hoping fervently that she would leave some hot water for him.

***

Thirty minutes later, in what had to be the fastest outfit change in Lydia history, his bedroom opened and his heart skipped a beat. She was wearing his Michigan U sweatshirt again, tucked loosely into a black and white grid miniskirt. The shoes Allison had left were indeed, “Power Shoes”, as five inch platform blue pumps. She had pulled her hair back into a loose braid and found mascara somewhere. Stiles realized that he was staring and blinked, trying very hard not to read some significance into her choice of top. Mentally shaking himself out of it, he grinned.

“I see now why they’re called Power Shoes. You leave me any hot water?”

“Of course! Although if it’s intimidation you’re going for, the whole grungy, five o’clock shadow, gang member look you’ve got going on is working for you.”

“Gang member look?”

“Definitely. Like a higher-up in some rival gang? Not a friendly higher up either.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Ahhhh... you caught that huh?”

“What, the part about how the 7thSt’ers were running all over your turf? Yes. Yes I did.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Okay, so technically we’re classified as a gang, but really we just kind of took over a low-income neighborhood and threw out all the unscrupulous characters. It caused a few problems at first but things have settled down now.”

“Uh huh, and how does that work with you being a cop?” She tilted her head in a very high-school Lydia fashion.

“Not gonna lie, it gets a bit tricky sometimes. But I do actually spend most of my time undercover in gangs, that was the truth, so most things that come up can usually be explained away.” Lydia studied him for a minute.

“Anymore things I should know about your life?” Stiles hesitated.

“I think you’re fully caught up now.” He smirked.

“Then go take a shower, we need to leave soon.” She strutted into the kitchen and brushed past him towards the fridge.

“Yes ma’am!” He saluted her, and slouched off to his room, trying to focus his mind onto the imminent arrival of the McCall pack, and off of Lydia’s outfit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up; the confrontation with the McCall pack!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s a little late guys, but my grandparents had to evacuate their home and move in with us because of fires nearby and it’s been a little chaotic. Hope you like it!

Lydia wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was hoping for when she walked out of his bedroom, but Stiles’ gobsmacked expression more than satisfied her. She could feel his eyes on her as she brushed past him into the kitchen, and she tried to control her secret joy at having caught him off guard. He payed her back in kind, however, when he walked out fifteen minutes later. He hadn’t shaved, apparently electing instead to take her advice and keep the scruff, and his damp hair somehow knew just how to lay in order to be at its most attractive. His outfit hadn’t changed either, except that he had exchanged a black henley for the blue, and was now wearing combat boots instead of tennis shoes. It took her a moment to remember how to breathe. He looked dangerous. And sexy. He stopped.

“What? You said the gang member look was working for me!” She shook herself inwardly and tried to pull herself together.

“You’re _trying_ to intimidate Scott?”

“Scott? No. The rest of his pack? Possibly, in a subconscious sort of way. What I _am_ trying to do is impress upon Scott the fact that I’m not the same person who left nine years ago. I’m willing to do anything it takes to keep my pack safe; he needs to know that upfront.” They were interrupted by Stiles’ cell ringing again. “Yeah? Alright, on our way.” He hung up. “They’re five minutes out, we gotta go. You ready?” Lydia took a deep breath, and nodded. He came to her and looked down into her eyes. “We’ve all got your back Lyds.” He smiled, and his eyes had the same look in them that was there when he had scared the gangbangers away. He wrapped his arms around her and she felt the wind pick up around them. She closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest until it stopped, and then looked around to see that they were back in the warehouse. She saw that about half the pack was there already, lounging around in an apparently casual manor, but the air was tense. Looking more closely she noticed that most of them were preparing for battle. Some were stretching, others sharpening claws. Sophie was flossing, which struck Lydia as odd, until she noticed the fangs that had protruded out of her gums. Allison was there, fully solid, checking over a bow and making sure its string was taut. She looked up at Lydia and winked. Stiles cleared this throat, and everyone’s attention was on them.

“Issac says they’re about five minutes out.” He was answered by the sound of Kira’s belt katana being unsheathed.

“Let them come.” Her eyes glowed. Lydia smiled. Stiles did too.

“Good.” Stiles turned to Lydia. “How do you wanna play this? You’re in charge.” Lydia licked her lips.

“You said that you’ve got people following them? 

“Yeah, about half the pack. When Scott gets here they’ll surround him, but stay out of sight.”

“Okay. Scott’s not going to be too happy with me when he gets here. If he’s confronted by the whole pack things could go bad really fast. I think I want to talk to him by myself.” Stiles nodded.

“Alright. We’ll be in here, listening. If you need any of us, at any point, you just say so, yeah?”

“I will.” She smiled at him. “You’ve got my back, and I know it. I’ll be okay.”

“Of course you will. You’re a warrioress.” He winked at her, but before she could say anything else, everyone in the pack stood simultaneously and Stiles’ eyes flashed. He looked over her shoulder towards the door, and then nodded at her.

“Alpha!” Scott’s voice was furious. “You have my banshee. I demand her back! _Now!”_ Lydia rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. She suddenly realized that she wasn’t afraid anymore. She was _angry._ Stiles must have seen it in her face because he smirked, and then walked her to the door.

“I’ll be right here.” He breathed into her ear, and then opened the door and let her walk out. Lydia waited for the door to close behind her before walking forwards about ten feet, stopping far enough away from Scott that he couldn’t jump to her, but she wouldn’t have to speak any louder than she normally would. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip, enjoying the taken aback expressions on the McCall Pack’s faces. Liam stood to Scott’s right, Malia to his left. Hayden stood just behind and a little to the right of Liam and Mason was hovering nervously behind Malia. Jordan and Corey took up the rear with Derek and Cora standing in the middle of the circle. Behind all of them was...

“Jackson?” She asked before Scott could even get a word out. “What are you doing here?” Jackson forced his way through the group and came to stand a foot closer to her than Scott.

“Scott called me in a panic. Something about you going on a mad murdering spree, or being near death? He wasn’t exactly lucid, and I got worried. You alright?”

“I’m fine.” She relaxed her expression momentarily and sent a quick smile his way. Scott finally found his words.

 _“Lydia!”_ He snarled. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay in your house!”

“And I elected to ignore that order. I could you know, given that you broke the pack bonds between us.” She saw Jackson’s brow furrow, and he glanced at Scott, then back to her.

“You are coming home, _now.”_ Scott growled.

“No.” She stared simply at him, and his face grew scarlet. Suddenly, she felt a steady pressure on her, or rather, on the bonds that Stiles had only just given her a few hours ago. She grew worried as the pressure increased, but when she checked the bonds she found them solid and true. Double-bound indeed. She found herself growing angrier. “Scott McCall! Are you seriously trying to force pack bonds onto me so that you can _compel_ me to obey you?” Jackson’s head whipped over to stare at Scott.

“Scott, seriously man? She seems okay. What are you doing?”

“She’s _not_ okay! She’s a _killer._ She needs to be put under control!” Lydia saw his claws come out, and she took a half step back and dropped her arms to her sides, shifting her stance so she would be better braced for a fight.

“What are you going to do Scott?” She asked. “Grab me? Force me into your car, onto a plane? Kidnap me? You won’t kill me, that’s on your big list of no-no’s. What’s your plan? Because I guarantee that attacking me will start something you aren’t ready for. And trust me when I say, you _won’t_ win.” Abruptly, the wind started swirling around them gently, blowing outward from Scott’s pack in all directions, and Lydia didn’t need to see the suddenly wary faces to know that Stiles had exited the warehouse. She glanced over her shoulder anyways and saw him casually leaning up against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. His relaxed stance didn’t fool her, and it didn’t seem to fool anyone else either, because the entire McCall pack tensed. “I thought we agreed you’d stay inside unless I needed you?” She turned back to Scott as she spoke. She didn’t have to watch Stiles to see him shrug, but she was curious to see if anyone had recognized him. It didn’t seem that they had.

“Couldn’t hack it. Went against every grain in my body. The protective instinct you know. Don’t worry, I’m still staying out of it. Go back to what you were all doing. I believe Scott was just about to jump you and drag you out of here? I’d very much like to see that.” Lydia grinned a very feral sort of grin.

“So would I.” She raised her eyebrows fractionally at Scott in a challenge.

“Well I, for one, am now officially staying out of this.” Jackson announced, walking over so he was standing to the side of all of them. “Clearly there is more going on than meets the eye here and I don’t wanna interfere, but Scott, if your plans do involve kidnapping? I’ll have to warn you that I’m on her side.” He jerked his head towards Lydia, and crossed his arms. Scott growled again.

“You’re already bonded. So that’s it? You’ve found yourself an Alpha who believes your innocent little girl act? Someone who bound you to his pack? He’s going to regret that when people start dying.” He started to shift.

“People are already dying Scott. Hunters, rival packs, witches, they’ve all attacked us in Beacon Hills. People are killed and what do you do? You throw our enemies out. You look scary and they plead and promise not to be bad anymore and you let them walk. Do you honestly think they didn’t go straight to the next town and wreak their havoc there? People. Are. Dying. You not being the one killing them? Doesn’t mean you’re any less responsible because you let your enemies walk and force your pack to stay hidden and inactive. That’s not a life Scott! That’s prison!” Lydia’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Do _not_ tell me how to run my pack! I’m keeping them safe!” Scott roared.

“No, you’re keeping them alive! There’s a difference! Staying alive without living is no better than being dead!”

“I highly doubt Allison would agree with you!” Scott hissed.

“Really? Then let’s ask her, shall we? Allison! Come out here would you?” Scott recoiled in confusion, and then his jaw dropped as Allison materialized next to Lydia.

“Allison?” He sputtered.

“Lydia’s right Scott. I’m back, granted we don’t know to what extent, but if I had to be kept cooped up all the time? Because someone’s scared that I might die again? Disappear? I’d rather be dead. People need freedom. The pack needs freedom. You can’t sequester them away in the hopes that they’ll never die because that’s what people do Scott. They die. Some sooner than others and it sucks but that’s life. You can’t avoid it. You can’t stop it.” As Allison talked, Lydia was startled to hear Stiles’ voice directly in her ear.

“Don’t react, I’m using the wind to talk to you. Tug on your ear if you can hear me.” She did so and his voice continued. “I’m sorry Lyds, but I need to intervene now. Derek and Cora, they need help.” Concerned, Lydia focused on the two in question. She could see what he meant, both were haggard and drawn, and unnaturally still. “Be prepared, what I’m about to do will probably cause the pack to attack.” Lydia nodded once, and focused back in on what Allison was saying

“You have to trust that your pack can take care of themselves. You can’t keep them prisoner!”.

“I’m not keeping them prisoner, I’m keeping them _safe!”_

“Are you? I’m pretty sure Derek and Cora disagree with you there Scotty.” Stiles’ voice was raw with suppressed anger and Lydia looked back to see him stalking towards them. She glanced back at Scott and huffed a laugh when she noticed that the pack had taken a step back at Stiles’ advance. “Sorry Lyds, but this is bigger than just you now.” He strode past her.

“How do you know my pack’s names?” Scott asked suspiciously.

“Aw what’s the matter Scotty-boy? Don’t recognize your old best friend? Granted it’s been a while, but I can’t have changed that much, could I?” Stiles stopped only a few feet away from the pack and spread his arms wide.

 _“STILES?!”_ Scott reeled back a pace. Lydia tried not to laugh at half the pack’s shell-shocked expressions. The other half were confused; having never met Stiles, they were clearly trying to reconcile him to the scrawny, spastic, malevolent boy Scott had often described. Scott jolted forward and Liam and Malia both put a hand on his shoulders, halting him. He turned and glared at Allison. “What are you doing here, with _him?_ He killed you!” Allison threw up her hands.

“No. He didn’t. The nogitsune did. Stiles was doing everything he could to keep everyone safe but he was a seventeen year old boy fighting a thousand year old fox demon. He couldn’t save everybody and neither can you! I’m here because Stiles is my Alpha, Scott. I chose him. And I’m not the only one who’s come to him either.” Scott swung back to Stiles. Liam kept his hand on Scott’s shoulder.

“Alpha? You’re not an Alpha; you’re not a werewolf! You’re just a weak human who couldn’t even keep himself from being possessed!” Scott’s voice was venomous.

“Sorry Scotty, but there’s a lot you’ve never known about me. I’ve been a werewolf for a long time. Peter bit me the same night he bit Lydia.” Stiles changed the wind, letting it blow his scent into the pack’s faces, while still keeping them from smelling the rest of _his_ pack surrounding them. He stuck his hands loosely into his pockets. “For that matter, I’ve never been human. Which is why I’m better at observing pack bonds than you. I know how to sense the difference between a healthy bond and an unhealthy one. See, most of your pack is fine with the way you’ve been running it, because they don’t know any better. They’ve never been in a healthy pack. Derek and Cora do though. That’s why you’ve had to bind them _so hard._ To keep them from leaving. To keep them from rejecting the bonds themselves. For some misguided reason, you think you’re keeping them safe but you are _literally_ holding them prisoner. And that’s not something I’ll stand for.”

“What are you gonna do? You think I’m just gonna let them go get themselves killed? You can’t take my pack away from me. They’re _mine._ I tell them what to do, I protect them! I keep them safe! They are bound to me.”

“You’re wrong Scotty. If they’re willing, I can.” Stiles’ voice took on the Alpha echo and Lydia shivered as a little thrill went through her. She watched him look Derek and then Cora in the eyes. “Derek Hale. Cora Hale. Do you, of your own free will consent to join the Stilinski Pack? To call it your own, to protect it as your own, to care for and be cared for, to watch over and be watched over? To be Pack? To be free?” Stiles spoke quickly, getting the words out before Scott could interrupt him. Lydia knew by the dumbfounded looks on the rest of the McCall pack that his eyes were changing like they had when she had been bound. She could see Derek and Cora fighting desperately to speak but Scott had bound them tightly, not willing to see, to understand what he was doing to them. They couldn’t even move under the weight of their alpha’s power. Stiles stood taller and stared them down; Lydia could feel him through the bonds, putting pressure on the bindings surrounding the Hales and suddenly there was a _snap_ and then she could _feel_ Derek and Cora and they both collapsed to the ground. Stiles moved forwards with a grace and an urgency Lydia hadn’t seen before. The air parted the McCall pack for him, forcing them to the sides and keeping them there as he swiftly went for Derek and Cora. They both pushed themselves shakily up into sitting positions as he squatted down next to them. He placed one hand on the back of each of their necks and pushed his forehead against Cora’s, and then against Derek’s. “You are in _my_ pack now.” He said softly. “No one will force you to do anything against your will again.” He lifted Cora up, wrapping one arm around her protectively, carrying her easily as she clung to him, exhausted, and pulled Derek to his feet, throwing one of Derek’s arms over his shoulder and wrapping his other arm around Derek’s waist, supporting him as well. He moved rapidly despite his burdens, carrying the two towards the warehouse, where two of his pack were waiting to help them.

“No... no... _NO!”_ Scott roared, fighting against the wind that held him in place. “How? How did you do that? They didn’t accept! They didn’t say yes!”

“They didn’t have to.” Stiles turned back to Scott as his new wolves were born safely to the shelter of the warehouse. “They just had to be willing.”

“They’re _mine!_ And so is Lydia! I need to keep them safe! How dare you take them from me! How dare you take Allison from me!” Scott was shaking with rage.

“I’m not your property Scott!” Lydia remembered what Stiles had said about forcing the bonds being exhausting, and sent some of her own personal energy and power towards Stiles through the bonds, knowing how to do so instinctually. She felt him pull at it, and watched him take a slow breath. She kept speaking. “I’m my own person! I have to live my own life! You can’t be responsible for the lives of everyone around you!”

“But if I’m not, then they die! So many people have died! I have to keep them safe! And you won’t stop me!” His sentence ended in a snarl as he crouched, ready to pounce.

“Somewhere inside you is a good person Scott.” Stiles said. “You could be a great Alpha. But you have to let that god complex of yours go. Your pack won’t survive if you don’t.” Scott leapt. Stiles dodged and swung around to meet Scott’s next attack as Lydia braced herself. The McCall pack charged and she _screamed._ They went down like bowling pins. _Strike,_ she thought to herself. She watched them slowly picking themselves up with one eye and turned the other to Scott and Stiles. Stiles was definitely tired, he wasn’t moving nearly as fast as he had the night before when the two rogues had attacked them. But still, he didn’t seem to be having too much trouble either. In a few minutes he had Scott pinned to the ground. His Alpha voice emanated again as he spoke to Scott.

“You will _leave._ You will take your pack with you, the members who are _willing,_ and you will _leave my city_.” He released Scott and stood up in one fluid motion. “Now _go._ Before I let Lydia release the rage that’s currently trying to escape her. _GO.”_ Scott stood, and to Lydia’s amazement, obeyed. She glanced at Stiles, somewhat astounded that he had enough power behind him to order a True Alpha around. He was breathing a little heavy, so she sent a little more power and he straightened his back as it hit. He was watching the McCall pack recede when someone cleared their throat beside them and they all turned to look at Jackson. He looked a little dumbstruck and kept eyeing both Stiles and Lydia, but he cleared his throat again and spoke.

“Uhm, I still don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not apart of McCall’s pack, and I would kind of like to know what, exactly, has been going on while I’ve been gone? If that’s alright, Alpha Stilinski?” Stiles looked at Lydia and she nodded.

“Come on in then, but call me Alpha Stilinski again and you’re out on your ear.” Stiles whistled, low and clear, and the half of the pack that had been surrounding Scott parkoured their way out of the shadows. _Show offs._ Lydia scoffed to herself. Jackson gaped.

“Were they there the whole time?” Lydia just patted him on the shoulder before following after Stiles.

***

Stiles led the way into the warehouse and went straight for Derek and Cora. They were sitting next to each other on one of the couches, with Kira, Issac, Allison and two others Lydia couldn’t name piled on top of them. Lydia was trying to figure out how Allison had beaten them inside when they both stood as Stiles approached, shedding wolves and kitsune everywhere as they did so. Once again he placed a hand on the back of each of their necks and brought them close. Lydia could see them both breathe in deeply and sigh as they melted into their new alpha’s embrace. After a few minutes, Stiles pulled them back to arms length so he could look at them.

“I am _not_ Scott. You are my pack, and you may keep these bonds for as long as you wish, but you have no obligation to stay with us unless you choose to. If you wish to keep the bonds and move on, or be released from them and find a new pack, you may. You are also very welcome to stay here with us. I would like you to for a few days anyways at least, to rest. But after that you may go and do as you please. Think about it.” He gently smiled at both of them, and pushed them carefully back down onto the couch, where they were swarmed with pack cuddles once again. Stiles turned to Lydia. “How are you? I know I kind of hijacked you a little at the end there, sorry about that.” She shook her head.

“No, it was important. Besides, I think I got my point across when I blasted the pack back after Scott tried to jump you. I’m okay. Really. Actually I feel really good.” She smiled.

“You’re good? Everyone’s good then?” He looked around at everyone as they nodded. “Great!” He exclaimed, collapsing into an overstuffed armchair suddenly looking every inch as exhausted as he felt through the bonds. “Somebody get me a cheeseburger, I’m whooped. And then we gotta do some housekeeping.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as two of his pack members took off out of the warehouse, ostensibly to get him his cheeseburger. Lydia pushed some more power towards him and he smirked. “Enough Lydia, I appreciate the boosts out there, but I’m okay... just need to eat and I’ll be fine.” She crossed her arms even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“Really? ‘Cause last time I checked you have a tendency to be pretty self-sacrificing.” He laughed, his eyes still closed.

“Well, you’re not wrong there, but I promise I would ask for help if I needed it. Come over here, I can feel you worrying.” She walked over to him, and, still with his eyes closed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap. “There, now you can take my pulse or listen to my breathing or whatever else you wanna do while we wait for that cheeseburger; and I can take a nap.” Without further ado he put his feet up onto the coffee table that someone had pushed towards them. In a few seconds, he was fast asleep. Lydia wiggled around until she could rest her back against one of the arms of the chair, and her feet against the other, and glanced around at the pack. Many of them were also curled up asleep, and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who had given Stiles some power. The rest of them were either snuggled up with the Hales, whose sleepy faces were content with all the physical contact, or lounging about keeping wary eyes, ears, and noses on the alert. Protecting their alpha, she realized. She looked down at the man who was gently snoring underneath her and wondered, not for the first time, just what he had gone through to earn such fierce loyalty from all these people.


	9. Chapter 9

Stiles had plowed through not one, but five cheeseburgers before he was feeling near enough to his old self to start the pack meeting. Jake and Marcy had brought back food for the whole pack, not just him, and they were all spread out in something vaguely resembling a circle when he took one last sip of his coke and called the meeting to order.

“Okay people, lets get down to business. First things first, Jackson’s gonna stick around for a little while, and he’s gonna need a place to crash. How many free apartments do we have right now, anybody know?”

“Four. But one of them’s still unfurnished after the Turpentine Incident.” Caroline, one of his more responsible wolves spoke up. He glanced over at her.

“That was like, four months ago, what have we been doing that we haven’t been able to get it refurnished?”

“Rebuilding the coffee shop after the Lava Incident.” Several people swung around to glance at Issac and he shrunk sheepishly into the couch.

“Ah. Yes, I forgot about that. Okay, well we don’t need more than three right now anyways. Jackson, you can stay in my building for as long as you need.” He looked down at Lydia, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against his chair. He wasn’t sure how she had gotten down there in that skirt but she seemed comfortable. “Lydia, would you mind if...” Lydia, apparently having anticipated what he was going to ask, leaned her head back onto the seat to look at him, and interrupted.

“Allison and Issac said they want me to stay in their third bedroom while Cora and Derek stay with you. I know they’ll do better while they’re recovering if they’re closer to you and there’s not enough room for the four of us in your apartment.” His mind flashed to one way they could all fit and he shoved it firmly aside. He looked down into her face seriously.

“You’re okay with that?” She bounced a little.

“I’m kind of looking forwards to it. Sophie’s gonna join us and we’re all going to go on a massive shopping trip. I can use my money again now that I’m not hiding anymore. I’ll be fine.” She smiled.

“What no Kira?” Stiles asked. Kira pouted.

“I’m working the night shift all week, but we’re gonna do a girls coffee as soon as I’m off.” She responded. Stiles nodded.

“Okay, then that’s settled. Issac, good luck, you’ve never been on a shopping trip with those two.” He dodged a pillow that was flung at his head as though it were a commonplace event, (it was), before continuing. “Derek, Cora, you two are gonna stay with me for a few days while you’re recuperating and figuring out what you want to do, alphas orders.” He winked. “You guys okay with that?” Derek and Cora both nodded gratefully. They hadn’t left each other’s side since they had come into the warehouse and they had made sure that Stiles was in their sight at all times. It wasn’t difficult, given that he had slept until the food had arrived.

“Thank you, Stiles.” Derek said. “For everything, I don’t know how we can repay you.” Cora murmured an agreement.

“Forget it, I’m an alpha, it’s in my job description.” He smiled kindly at them.

“Stiles?” Cora asked meekly. Meek felt wrong somehow, coming from her. “What if Scott comes back?”

“I’ll let Lydia loose on him. Took just one scream to bowl the whole pack over.” He heard a very wolf-like growl coming from the redhead leaning against his leg and felt a swell of pride. He put on his alpha face and looked at the Hales solemnly. “Derek, Cora, you are _safe_ with us. There is nothing I won’t do for my pack, which you are now a part of for however long you choose. You are both doubly-bound to me, to this pack; and as Lydia can testify, Scott can’t break that.” Derek and Cora automatically looked over at Lydia and she nodded.

“It’s true. Scott tried to break the bonds right at the start. He couldn’t even come close. It was like a butterfly trying to break a steel pole.” Their eyes widened and they looked back at Stiles.

“You are protected. You are safe. Truly safe, not Scott’s twisted version of it. If he comes back, we’ll just throw him out of my city again, however many times we need to for him to get the message. Okay?” They both nodded, a little wide-eyed still, and he nodded back at them. “Alright everybody, it’s been a long twenty-four hours, I say we all head home and take the rest of the evening off!” He stood up and stretched, then leaned over and helped Lydia up off of the floor. Her cheeks grew just barely pinker at his attention, and he smiled to himself.

“Alright, everybody who needs a lift to the apartment building, gather ‘round, I’m not doing this twice tonight! Jackson, you too!” He called out. “Derek, Cora, come stand by me please.” They did as they were asked, and about half of the pack circled around Stiles, everyone joining hands, grabbing elbows, resting chins on shoulders, etc; until everyone was touching someone else. Stiles held Lydia and Cora’s hands, and made sure that Cora was holding on to Derek, while Lydia had a grip on Jackson. “Everybody linked up? Okay, here we go.” The air swirled once again, and a moment later, they were in the lobby of the apartment building. Everyone slowly unlinked themselves and headed towards their individual apartments, Caroline leading Jackson to his. Stiles kept ahold of Cora’s hand as he used the other to pull Lydia into a hug. “My apartment is 3C, come up whenever you want, maybe check on these two if I have to work?” He murmured quietly.

“I will, I promise.” She responded, equally as quiet. He pulled back a little ruefully, and tugged on her braid.

“Have fun you three, don’t get into any trouble that will make me have to lie to my superiors okay? Issac, you’re in charge! Sorta.” Allison, Issac and Lydia all laughed at him, and Issac saluted him in a manner that would have given anyone in the military a headache, before Allison and Lydia grabbed onto each other and headed towards the stairs. Tucking Cora underneath his arm, Stiles looked at Derek and jerked his head towards the elevators. All three of them leaned against the wall as the elevator rose slowly, Stiles letting the Hales adjust to the feel of his bonds. One of his wolves, who had had several alphas, had once told him that the feel of the pack bonds depended entirely on the alpha, and every alpha was different. He knew the difference between his pack bonds and Scott’s was throwing them. So he stayed quiet and listened to what they were telling him about his new wolves. When the doors opened, he steered them towards his apartment. Realizing that he had left his keys inside, he sighed, put his hand on Derek’s shoulder, and once more pulled the wind around them to move into his living room.

***

Stiles knew that the best thing for Derek and Cora right now was sleep. The more they slept, the more their bodies could recover from the toll that having their pack bonds forcibly broken, as well as the effort to break loose of Scott’s orders, had taken. So, grabbing some pajamas from the Dresser of Obscurities he handed them over, and ushered Cora towards the bathroom.

“Go take a shower Cora, you’ll feel better, I promise.”

“Where will you be?” She stared at him and he silently cursed Scott for the number he had done on her. Cora was never meant to be so browbeaten.

“I’m gonna be in the living room getting your guys’ bed set up.” He tilted his head a little so he could look her in the eye. “You’re safe here Cora. I promise.” He gently pushed her through the door, which he left ajar so she would still be able to hear him moving around once the shower was running. Coming back into the living room, he sighed as Derek, who hadn’t said a word since they left the warehouse, stood still, holding onto the pajamas and watching him warily. Nodding to himself, Stiles moved slowly around the room, busying himself with pulling the bed out of the couch, and turning down the blankets, adjusting the lights, clearing the side tables of the junk that was covering them, and any other menial task he could think of while letting Derek get used to his presence. As both a former alpha, and a big brother, Derek’s protection instincts were raging, and it had been nine years since he had seen Stiles. Stiles knew, now that the relief of being free from Scott had worn off, Derek would be wondering just what kind of alpha Stiles was going to be. Finally, when he heard Cora stop the water, Stiles knew it was time to address it. He wasn’t going to risk a fight with her in the room, she was clearly the more vulnerable of the two right now. Hanging his leather jacket on the back of a chair, Stiles walked straight up to Derek, stopping once he was just barely in the other man’s space. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rolled his neck, releasing some of the tension in it before speaking quietly.

“Derek. Are the bonds I have given you heavy?” He kept his body relaxed, trying to calm the older man’s instincts. Derek took a moment before answering.

“No.” His voice was wary.

“Listen to your new packmates. Are they content?” Another beat went by.

“Yes.”

“Use the bonds to ask them. Am I a good alpha?” A minute passed as the answers to his question flooded in from the pack.

“Yes.”

“Then breathe, Derek. I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m asking you to trust your instincts. What do they tell you about me?” Several seconds went by as Derek considered.

“That you’re safe.”

“Then listen to them Derek. I swear on my mother’s grave. I will not harm you, or your sister.” He allowed a little bit of the alpha to creep out in his voice to cement his sincerity, and Derek finally relaxed, allowing Stiles to wrap him in a quick hug as he breathed in his new alpha’s scent. A second after they straightened, Cora padded out of the bathroom and Stiles put out an arm to bring her into a hug too. After a minute, he kissed the top of her head and pulled away.

“Alright, Derek, your turn in the shower; Cora, go crawl into bed before you fall over.” They did as he instructed, Cora snuggling under the covers and watching him through his bedroom door as he meandered about his room, tidying the mess Hurricane Lydia had left when deciding what went with her Power Shoes. As soon as Derek came out, Stiles ducked into the bathroom to shave off the scruff that was now driving him crazy and change into his sweats. When he came out, the two of them were sleepily muttering to each other; when they saw him they stopped like guilty children and he grinned.

“Not to sound like the dad the pack’s constantly accusing me of being, but try and get some sleep you two, nothing’s gonna harm you here.” He turned out the lights to their quiet chuckles and crawled into his own bed, leaving the door open so he wouldn’t accidentally charge straight through it if one of them had a nightmare. He had learned that lesson the hard way once before. He laid still, listening to them breathing and waited until they were asleep before drifting off himself, fully expecting to wake up in the middle of a werewolf pile in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

Allison and Issac’s apartment was gorgeous. It was a three bed, two bath setup with a large kitchen and a cozy living room. Lydia fell in love with it immediately. Her new room was right between Allison’s office and Issac’s bedroom, and she felt comfortable at once.

“So Lydia, what’s the significance of your choice of top for the big confrontation with your former alpha?” Allison hopped up onto the kitchen counter and grinned at her. Lydia sniffed.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to. I just grabbed a top, that’s all.”

“Lie!” Issac burst gleefully. “You do realize that there isn’t a single person in the pack who _didn’t_ notice the fact that you wore Stiles’ sweatshirt to talk with Scott, right? Even if we didn’t recognize it, it’s got his scent all over it. And don’t think for a minute that Scott didn’t notice as well becasue he totally did.” He and Allison exchanged a mischievous glance. Lydia tossed her hair.

“So? It’s not like I had all that many choices.” She didn’t look at them. Allison guffawed.

“Puh-lease! I _just_ restocked that dresser in his room with clothes for all sizes, there were _so_ many different things you could have worn, but you deliberately picked Stiles’ college sweatshirt. You could have taken out a billboard that said ‘I belong to the alpha’ and been _less_ subtle.” She grinned. Lydia’s eyes flashed.

“As I _just_ got done telling Scott, I don’t _belong_ to _anyone.”_

“Of course _you_ don’t... but your heart does!” Allison ended her sentence in a singsong voice and laughed as Lydia’s cheeks reddened. Issac handed Lydia a glass of wine and sat down on one of the stools by the counter Allison was sitting, bringing a beer for himself.

“He’s crazy about you too, you know.” He said. Lydia joined him and bit her lip.

“How do you know? And how do _I_ know it’s not just some sort of, I don’t know, reaction to being rescued by him?” She looked up at the two of them and was reassured by the grins on their faces.

“First of all, if all it took to fall in love with Stiles was being rescued by him, then this wouldn’t be a pack it would be his own personal harem. He’s everybody’s white knight in one way or another, it’s just what he does. Secondly, you’re too level headed to fall in love with someone just because they helped you out, especially given that you could have easily done it yourself. Finally... girl. It’s all over your faces when you look at each other. It’s like your worlds aren’t complete until you see the other person.” Allison counted her list off on her fingers as she went. Issac nodding in agreement as she talked.

“He hasn’t said anything.”

“Well it’s only been what, a week? Probably doesn’t want to scare you off, that’s all.” Allison shrugged.

“Actually I’m not sure he will say anything unless she drops a few very unsubtle hints that she’s okay with it, first.” Issac broke in. Lydia frowned.

“Why? Stiles doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to wait for the woman to make the first move.”

“He’s not, but Stiles is an alpha, first. He always has been. Pack is his first priority. He’s not going to pursue any kind of romantic relationship with you without knowing for sure that that’s what you want; because to him, making sure that you’re okay and happy in the pack, and comfortable with him as your alpha, is more important than him wanting to be your boyfriend.” Issac and Allison watched Lydia as she thought about that.

“So what does that mean for me? What do I do?”

“Well for one thing, give it some time, you said you weren’t sure that this was actual love and not just a reaction, so make sure for yourself. It wouldn’t be fair to Stiles if you didn’t.” Allison suggested.

“And for another, never give him back his sweatshirt. Guys like it when a girl wears their clothes, and it’ll keep the rest of the pack off your back as you figure things out.” Issac added.

“What do you mean, keep the pack off my back?”

“Lydia, in case you’ve forgotten since high school, you’re a catch. Stiles isn’t the only one interested. Wearing his sweatshirt occasionally tells everyone that you’re still under his protection, so to speak. It’s basically saying that you’re willingly allowing him to chase off anything that comes after you; threats, inconveniences, and suitors, because you’re not ready to do it yourself. And while, consciously, that’s how Stiles will take it too... unconsciously his instincts will tell him that you wearing his scent means that you’re interested in him too. It’s a good baby first step.” Issac took a drink of his beer and sat back. Lydia frowned.

“Okay, that all makes sense, but how is wearing his scent outside of a romantic relationship any different than wearing it inside of a romantic relationship?”

“Well for one thing, he’s the alpha, so everyone wears his scent to some extent. But the main thing is that if you two were dating, he’d be wearing your scent too.” Allison explained.

“And if you two were mated, your scents would entwine. You wouldn’t just be wearing each other’s scents, they would become a part of you. Although that’s not really something you personally would notice, but it’s how wolves know when someone else is mated or not.” Issac finished speaking and Lydia huffed.

“Werewolves. Why do you all have to make things so complicated?” The other two laughed.

“Don’t ask me! I didn’t invent them, I just am one!” Issac exclaimed, still chuckling.

“Well somebody needs to write a manual or something!” Lydia waved one hand around to emphasize her point. “Maybe that’s what I’ll do while I’m looking for a job.”

“Well you can’t start it tomorrow,” Allison stated, smoothly changing the subject. “Stiles will take it off to keep an eye on Derek and Cora, which means it will be the perfect time for our shopping trip! What time are we leaving?”

“Won’t we have to wait for night so Sophie can come?”

“Nah,” Issac shook his head, “as long as she doesn’t stand in direct sunlight she’ll be fine. The sun just makes her a little weaker, which basically means she’s more like a human during the daytime.”

“Then how about we leave at eleven? I want to sleep in a little tomorrow, I didn’t get much sleep last night, and what I did get wasn’t very restful.”

“Sounds good to me!” Allison chirped. “I’ll let Sophie know when she wakes up, she usually texts me.”

“Yeah, I’m down. Sleeping in sounds good to me too.” Issac yawned and stretched his arms before tossing his empty beer bottle across the room into the recycling basket where it hit several other bottles with a sharp clang.

“Issac!” Allison scolded.

“Oops, sorry.” He shrugged a little ruefully. Lydia laughed, then remembered something.

“Oh! Wait, what about Jackson?”

“What about Jackson?” Issac asked.

“Well shouldn’t we include him? He just traveled several thousand miles to make sure that I was okay, and now we’re all just gonna ignore him?”

“Well I’m not shopping with him. He could be a great guy now, but if he _hasn’t_ grown up I’m not spending the day listening to him try to one-up everyone in the building.” Issac declared.

“Well, how about we invite him over for dinner afterwards then? He can spend the day resting after what I’m sure was a hectic couple of days, and then if he’s still annoying we can all pretend we have to get up early and throw him out.” Allison mused, glancing at the other two. Lydia nodded.

“I think that’ll work nicely. I’ll text him and let him know, and then I’ll text him again tomorrow when we’re ready for him.”

“Everything’s planned then? Yes? Good. I’m going to hit the hay now. Talk about a hectic couple of days.” Issac yawned again and meandered over to check that the front door was locked. “Allison, you staying out here?” He asked. Allison shook her head.

“Nah, I’m gonna reorganize the filing cabinet in my office. The system that Stiles is using seems to consist of adding a new folder for every single piece of paper and ramming it in-in an approximation of alphabetical order. It gives me a headache every time I have to find something.” Issac chuckled as he finished closing down the wards.

“For all his brilliance at deductive work, Stiles is a terrible organizer.” He ushered the girls down the short hall in a very ‘Man of the House’ sort of way; turning the lights out in the main rooms as he did so. Lydia had thought that the reason she had enjoyed Stiles taking care of her was because, well, it was Stiles, but as Issac guided her towards her room she realized that she felt relieved to have someone else taking care of the nighttime routine. After so many years of only ever being able to count on herself, she had finally found a pack, full with people she already trusted inherently; and allowing them to deal with the little things lifted a burden off of her shoulders. Issac’s gesture, however unconscious, helped cement the fact that she was finally home.


	11. Chapter 11

It was a good thing they had brought a werewolf along on their little shopping trip, Lydia mused. Most human men would have been staggering under the weight of the bags that Issac was currently carrying on one arm. He was leaning against a column in the mall, texting with his free hand as he waited for the girls to exit Victoria’s Secret; a store he had categorically refused to enter, citing that ‘too many bras made him nervous’. The girls had laughed and promised a short visit, and then that they could hit the food court. Lydia found that Sophie made an excellent third party for shopping extravaganzas, having both excellent taste in clothes, and a designer’s eye for outfits. With her and Allison’s help, Lydia was able to create a whole new wardrobe for herself that was both extremely chic, and much more appropriate for the Detroit weather than her old California wardrobe would have been. The fact that Allison kept suggesting clothing that would inevitably pair well with Stiles’ sweatshirt hadn’t escaped her, but Allison had such good taste that Lydia couldn’t bring herself to veto _all_ of the clothes that had been suggested.

The other thing that hadn’t escaped her notice, was the way that Issac, despite being laden with numerous bags, bundles, and boxes, managed to look after Sophie. The vampire was still a little jumpy after her recent encounter with her ex, and Issac stuck close, often throwing an arm around her shoulders or grabbing her hand when he had one free. Sophie didn’t seem to mind it either, in fact Lydia definitely saw the vampires cheeks grow just slightly pinker when Issac had grabbed her hand the first time. She caught Allison’s eye and the latter sent her a knowing smile, nodding her head just barely before pointing out an extremely boring blouse in a nearby shop window, allowing the two lovebirds a short moment of privacy.

By the time the four of them made it back to the apartment, the girls had loaded Issac down with sixteen bags of clothing, eleven pairs of shoes, a new laptop for Lydia, and a disassembled dresser that had been bought from a store that Sophie insisted had ‘much better assembly instructions than IKEA’. Lydia wasn’t quite sure how Issac was managing to carry everything, but when she offered to help, he had adamantly refused, thanking her, but insisting he was perfectly fine. She wouldn’t have believed him if she hadn’t seen Stiles holding up two fully grown, wiggling men with ease, only a few days prior. Clearly the werewolves in Stiles’ pack were more practiced in their supernatural abilities than the ones in Scott’s pack.

Dinner was Thai takeout and Allison. Lydia finished texting Jackson and came into the living room with her pad se ew, stopping in surprise when she saw Sophie feeding off of the vein in Allison’s elbow. Issac strolled in behind her and plopped down onto the couch with his fried rice and started digging in, completely ignoring the vampire who was feeding on the ghost.

“How in the world does that even work?” Lydia asked, settling into the armchair and digging in, herself. Allison looked up and grinned.

“We have absolutely no idea. All we know is that, as long as I’m fully substantial, Sophie can feed off of me just like she can anyone else. The plus is that because I’m still dead in some way, she can take as much as she needs to and I’m fine. She can feed off of the werewolves pretty well too because of their accelerated healing but even they have a limit to how much blood they can ‘donate’; I don’t.” As she finished speaking, Sophie looked up and wiped her lips daintily with a napkin.

“She tastes phenomenal too. I don’t know what’s different about a ghost/human hybrid but she just does.” Sophie grinned, her fangs still protruding from her gums. Lydia hummed in amusement.

“You know, when I was a little girl... watching a vampire feed off of my long-dead, half-ghost best friend while eating Thai food with said best friend’s ex who’s also a werewolf was _not_ something I would have ever considered being a normal part of my life.”

“Funny how things work out isn’t it?” Issac agreed around a mouthful of egg roll. A knock sounded at the door and Lydia called for Jackson to let himself in. Closing the door behind himself, Jackson paused for a second and blinked at Sophie, who was once again latched onto Allison’s elbow, before shaking his head and sitting down, opening the pizza box he had brought with him.

“Life as a supernatural is a rollercoaster.” He mumbled, stuffing half a slice in his mouth. “How’re you doing Lydia?” Lydia threw a handful of napkins at him before answering.

“Remarkably well considering I’ve just escaped an abusive alpha and uprooted my entire life. Shopping is excellent therapy. How about you?” Jackson spluttered.

“Yeah, no, my life in London hasn’t changed since the last time we talked... I want to know what on earth is going on here!? What’s up with idiot McCall? He was stupid when I left Beacon Hills but he wasn’t cruel. And since when is Stilinski an alpha? In Michigan of all places? Or a werewolf for that matter? Or competent, even. And what’s with you and the screaming?” The others laughed and Lydia gave him the cliffnotes version of the last decade; at least as far as she knew, and was willing to tell. She had gotten the impression that Stiles’ Elemental side was a somewhat open secret, however, only his pack knew the specific details. “So wait, you’re saying that the entire time I was a lizard, Stilinski was a werewolf? And he just... hid it? From everyone?”

“What can we say? Our alpha is a talented dude.” Issac stretched his legs out onto the chest that was acting as a coffee table.

“And he always has been.” Lydia added. “He was just also remarkably good at making sure people underestimated him.”

“Something he doesn’t do any more. Stiles likes to make sure his enemies know exactly what they’re dealing with upfront these days. It’s saved us a lot of trouble.” Allison chipped in.

“How so?” Jackson wiped the last of the tomato sauce off his fingers.

“Stiles doesn’t get angry very often, but when it happens... well lets just say you don’t wanna be the one on his bad side.” Issac said, shuddering slightly.

“Yeah, I noticed that yesterday.” Jackson muttered. Allison laughed.

“Yeah, no, that wasn’t angry Stiles, that was mildly peeved Stiles. Comparatively, anyways. He was mad because he saw wolves being mistreated, and he intervened accordingly; but if it had been his own pack members? He would have killed everyone in his way without a second thought.” Sophie and Issac murmured agreements to Allison’s assessment.

“Not that I don’t believe you, but I’m having a hard time seeing Stiles straight-up killing anybody.” Jackson’s expression was dubious.

“No offense, but that’s probably because you’re still thinking of the kid you thought you knew when you were in high school.” Sophie interjected. “For one thing, Stiles has always been a supernatural, you just never knew it. And becoming a werewolf has only made him more powerful. Think of the man you saw yesterday, did he really look like he would have a problem killing a dozen or so people if you got him angry enough?” She questioned. Jackson considered her words.

“No, I guess not.”

“Well I’ve seen it personally. I was the first person Stiles brought into the pack after he became alpha. Packs from all over were trying to move in and take the territory from us, and it was hard because we weren’t very well trained. The wolves had had a lousy previous alpha and I wasn’t used to working in a pack, vampire covens are pretty every-man-for-himself. One of the bigger packs attacked us while Stiles was at work. The pack bonds weren’t working very well yet and he didn’t know we were in trouble until Caroline howled in pain. Stiles was there in literal seconds. I’ve never seen him that angry and I don’t ever want to see it again. It was the first time we saw his...” She paused for a second, eyeing Jackson. “...other talents. He surrounded us, made sure we were protected and then ripped through the other pack. We were all so exhausted and injured at that point that the pure sense of _alpha_ that enveloped us calmed our instincts and we all pretty much passed out right in the middle of the battle. We woke up in his apartment, bandaged and all practically piled on top of him. That was the first time we all stayed with him in that dinky little apartment and the first time we truly felt like a pack. He help us heal, helped us recover, and then he doubly bound us, so that we could feel each other, ensuring it would never happen again. We’ve been a solid pack ever since... even adding new members doesn’t change that. ” Sophie finished her story and Lydia tilted her head.

“But what became of the other pack?” She asked. Sophie shrugged.

“Only three members were ever heard from again, and ever since they’ve been traveling around to other packs, warning them. Detroit is Stilinski Pack territory; don’t risk your pack trying to take it.” Sophie’s eyes were unreadable. Lydia glanced over at Jackson and found him gaping.

“I feel... I feel like killing the entire pack was a little excessive.” He stuttered. Lydia hummed.

“Interesting. I felt that leaving _three_ survivors was excessive. One would have been enough.” Jackson stared at her and then shook his head.

“That’s because you’re mercenary. Honestly you two would work well together. I don’t know why I’ve never thought of it before. You should make a move on Stilinski before someone else does Lyds.” Allison and Issac burst into laughter at Jackson’s comment and Lydia groaned, shrinking into her chair and covering her face with her hands, secretly smiling underneath them. They had a point.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s been a few short chapters, but hopefully the next one will be a little longer! Also, I went back and changed Sophie’s big speech in the last chapter, if ya’ll wanna check it out. I wrote it when I was in a hurry and I hated it because it felt too clunky... I think it’s fixed now, at least to my satisfaction lol. Hope you like it!

Lydia woke the next morning to the sound of her cell ringing. She had gotten the numbers of the pack last night from Issac and sent out a massive group text, letting everyone know her new phone number, so she wasn’t entirely surprised to find Stiles on the other end when she picked up.

“Hello?” She mumbled sleepily.

“Lyds? Hey, sorry, did I wake you?” His voice, deeper than it usually was, sent a small thrill through her and she had to fight to keep her concentration.

“Only sort of... Yes, completely, but I forgot to set my alarm anyways so it’s fine, what’s going on?” She propped herself up on one elbow and checked the clock on her nightstand to see that it was half past eight, a half an hour later than she usually got up.

“I got called in to work today, I was wondering if you could come and hang out with Derek and Cora, they’re still a little skittish. My second could do it, but they don’t know him and I think they’ll be more comfortable with someone familiar.”

“Of course! I’ll be right up if I can steal your shower.”

“What’s mine is yours. I’ll see you in a few.” He hung up without saying anything else, and Lydia knew he must be running late. Throwing her covers back, she pulled on some yoga pants and stuffed her feet into her new slippers while pulling on the first sweatshirt she could find. Grabbing her cell and a set of clean clothes she hurried through the apartment, pausing only to grab an apple and call out to Allison.

“Hey, Stiles has to go in to work so I’m gonna hang with Derek and Cora today, come on up if you’re not doing anything!” Allison poked her head out of her office and waved.

“Okay! Have fun!” Her head disappeared back into the office. Lydia jammed the apple into her mouth, holding onto it with her teeth as she grabbed her keys and let herself out of the apartment, hurrying up the stairs. Stiles had clearly heard her coming because he had the door open and was waiting for her with a grin.

“You know,” he said, leaning against the doorframe as she approached. “I remember a time when Lydia Martin wouldn’t have been caught dead outside her room in her pajamas and no makeup. I’ve gotta say, I like this look.” Lydia laughed around the apple that was still in her mouth, finished the bite, and grabbed it with her semi-free hand.

“You sounded like you’re running late.”

“I am, but before I go, here’s a key to my apartment so you can let yourself in anytime you want. You know where everything is, I’ve got a feeling this is gonna be a late night so feel free to steal my bed if you wanna stick around, I’ll take the floor if I come home before you get up.” He kissed the top of her head, a growing habit that she was decidedly _not_ averse to, and gently pushed her inside. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” She smiled, smoothly kicking the door closed behind his rapidly departing form. Turning around, she took in the Hales. Cora was still in her pj’s, sitting on the sofabed finishing off what had clearly been a truly impressive stack of pancakes, but Derek was fully dressed, leaning against the kitchen counter eating a bowl of cereal. Both of them were staring at her. “What?” She asked. Cora sniggered and Derek raised an eyebrow.

“Do you always wear Stiles’ sweatshirt to bed?” He asked, lips twitching in what could have been the beginnings of a smile. Lydia looked down at herself and realized that the sweatshirt she had grabbed was indeed the one she had stolen from Stiles. No wonder he’d been imitating the Cheshire Cat when she had walked up.

***

After Lydia had gotten out of her shower, changing into jeans and a new sweater that was form-fitting and decidedly _not_ Stiles’, she wandered into the kitchen and started rifling through the fridge. She wasn’t much of a cook, but Stiles usually kept some goodies that were easy to heat up.

“Jackpot!” She muttered to herself as she found an omelet that literally had her name on it. Stiles must have cooked it for her before he called.

“So Lydia,” Cora asked casually as Lydia popped the omelet into the toaster oven. Stiles didn’t have a microwave, citing something about it degrading the nutrition of the food. “How long have you and Stiles been living together?”

“We weren’t living together, I was staying with him while I was recovering, like you two are now. I was here just barely over a week.”

“Really?” Derek asked in genuine surprise. “‘Because your scent is _all over_ the place. We figured you flew straight out here after you left two months ago. You’ve really only been here a week?” Lydia plated her omelet and went to join them both in the living room, curling one leg under her as she sat on the freshly made couch across from Cora.

“Mmhm! No I didn’t even know Stiles was here. I basically wandered around until I landed in a Detroit subway. I was in pretty bad shape by then, hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten... I had no money and my clothes were basically destroyed. A bunch of thugs from one of the local gangs tried to come after me but some guy scared them witless and chased them off. When I turned to thank him, who should it be but Stiles. I fainted, practically in his arms, and he brought me here. Took me a week before I was really feeling up to leaving the apartment, we went out to eat, and _that’s_ when Scott’s bounty hunters found us, which of course kicked off all the drama.”

“Huh.” Cora said eloquently. “Then I wonder why your scent is so thick, did you join his pack right away?”

“No! I didn’t even know he was a werewolf until the bounty hunters attacked. Even then, I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the supernatural strength and the claws. He never shifted. The only reason his claws were out was because he was using them. After he had chased them off he came back over to me and flashed his eyes and _that’s_ when I found out he was an alpha. I joined his pack that night, mostly so that Scott couldn’t force the pack bonds back onto me but after I had officially joined I realized that I _wanted_ to stay. I’m not planning on leaving.”

“He was attacked by _two_ strange werewolves, in _his_ territory, while with someone who was under _his_ protection, and he _didn’t shift?”_ Derek asked incredulously. Lydia nodded.

“Not once. He just picked them up, threw them through a couple of brick walls and told them to get out of his city.”

“Geeze.” Cora muttered. “He’s _strong.”_

“No kidding.” Derek agreed. “I’ve never seen anyone break someone else’s bonds like Stiles did to Scott for us. It happened so _fast._ And we didn’t even need to verbally agree.”

“And he had to fight off Scott afterwards, I don’t know if you heard that part.” Lydia added.

“What?” They asked in unison.

“Yeah, Scott jumped him after you two were in the warehouse. The rest of the pack tried to join in but like Stiles said, I screamed them back. But Stiles seemed to want to deal with Scott himself so I only waited as backup. It only took him a couple minutes to pin Scott and alpha-ordered him and the pack out of his city. They went. I sure wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.” She shrugged. Derek and Cora both looked stunned. Cora shook herself out of it first and some of the meekness was back.

“Lydia, do you think he meant it? That we could stay if we wanted? I... I actually really like it here. The pack... it feels like home.” Derek nodded in agreement.

“I know it’s only been a week, but one thing I’ve learned about this new Stiles of ours, is that he only says what he means. He said that you two are welcome to stay here with us, that means you are.” She could feel the relief coming from both of them through the bonds, and smiled. “Now, what movie are we gonna watch first?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, I really enjoyed writing this chapter... I hope ya’ll like it!

It was four o’clock in the morning when Stiles finally got home. Whirling in with the winds so he wouldn’t wake anyone by opening the door, he prayed fervently that Lydia had left some food for him, although he smelled Mexican takeout and that didn’t usually keep very well. Opening the fridge as quietly as possible, he blessed her sweet head when he found his usual Chinese order sitting in plain view with a note attached.

_Thought that tacos wouldn’t keep very well so I ordered you Chinese instead. Cora’s in with me in your bed so you can share with Derek, so you don’t have to sleep on the floor. They suggested it when they found out what you were planning, I didn’t just order them about. Also Derek agrees with me that Monty Python is atrocious, but Cora agrees with you so I guess we’re even. Get some good sleep. :)_

“They watched Monty Python without me?!” He muttered quietly to himself, mindful of werewolf ears. “I wonder which one?” Stiles pulled the containers out of the fridge and placed them on the counter. Wrapping his hands around the first one, he summoned just enough of his fire to make his hands start to barely glow. Within a few seconds the food was warm and he moved on to the next box. Grabbing some chopsticks he toed off his shoes and started shoveling food into his mouth. He silently thanked Lydia again a few minutes later when he discovered his sweats hanging on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and his pillow lying on the bed next to Derek’s snoring head. Finishing his food he elected to be a slob for once and leave his trash on the counter, then changed quickly and crawled carefully into bed, trying not to wake the sleeping wolf. He felt like there was a metaphor in there somewhere but a yawn that nearly split his head in two convinced him that he didn’t really need to find it.

***

He was woken by the sounds of sizzling bacon and hushed voices.

“What time did he even get in last night?” Lydia murmured.

“I don’t know, he managed to slip in without waking me...” Derek whispered.

“He got in around four last night and some of that bacon better be for him if you’re waking him up this early.” Stiles grumbled, rolling over and burying his head beneath his pillow. He heard Lydia laugh.

“Stiles, it’s eleven-thirty. That’s hardly early.”

“It is when you leave your house at eight-thirty AM and don’t come home until four the next morning. Now shush. Let your alpha sleep.”

“I thought my alpha wanted bacon?” Her voice got closer and he felt the bed dip as she sat down next to him. The smell of bacon had gotten closer too. He debated for a moment, trying to decide between more sleep and bacon; ultimately deciding that Lydia wasn’t going away anytime soon so he might as well partake in the deliciousness that was tempting his nose. He grumbled for another minute on principle, before rolling over and sitting up. He blinked for a second as his eyes adjusted, but when they finally opened, it was to find a plate piled high with bacon and waffles waiting directly in front of his face.

“Well, I guess I could take a nap later.” He muttered, taking the plate and digging in. Lydia laughed again and he glanced up, winking at her. He heard Cora move behind him and he lifted his plate from his lap just in time to keep it from spilling as she leapt over the back of the couch onto Derek’s pillow, rocking the bed in a manner that gave Stiles serious doubts as to it’s survival. “Hey now, careful on the furniture there pup, this stuff isn’t rated for werewolves you know!” He protested. She grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Derek, you coming?”

“In a minute, I wanna get the last of this bacon finished.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing to this bacon Derek, but it’s fantastic.” Lydia called, crunching down on her own piece that was decidedly overcooked in Stiles’ opinion.

“Seriously dude, she’s right, this is the best bacon I’ve had in forever.” He added. He couldn’t see Derek’s face from where he was sitting, but felt Derek’s pleasure at the compliment through the bonds. “So, what did you all do yesterday while I was gone?” He asked, biting into a waffle that was throughly doused in syrup.

“Lydia introduced us to Suits!” Cora said, bouncing a little, acting for all the world as if she were seventeen again; although, to be honest, Stiles didn’t remember her acting like this when she was seventeen.

“Wait, you guys haven’t seen Suits? That’s an atrocity! How far did you get?”

“We plowed through the first season before I made us all go to bed.” Lydia said, chuckling as Derek finally came over, bringing along his own bacon-piled plate, and sat on the bed with them. Stiles thought that Lydia seemed to be in extremely good humor this morning.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Somebody turn on the tv! Let’s start season two!”

“Stiles, you’re still in your pajamas.” Lydia raised an eyebrow.

“Your point?” He raised an eyebrow back. She rolled her eyes so hard her head followed them.

“I... guess I don’t have one! Let’s start the tv!” She glared at him, “Scoot back, you’re hogging the bed.” Stiles grinned and did as she said, leaning against the back of the couch. Seconds later he had a banshee on his lap and a couple of werewolves piled next to him.

“This is great and all, but who’s got the remote?” He said.

***

Four episodes and one Mediterranean takeout later, Lydia stretched and started to crawl off of the puppy pile.

“Well kids, I have been ignoring my new roommates for the better part of two days, so I’m gonna go and join them for dinner.” She smoothed the non-existent wrinkles from her sweater as the others protested.

“Ah come on Lyds, the next episode’s a good one!” Stiles whined.

“That’s what you said about the last two. It’s not like I’m disappearing off the map guys, I’m only a floor down.” She ruffled Stiles’ hair as she reached over him to hug Cora. Stiles tried to pout but his grin kept getting in the way.

“Fiiiiine. If you must. Abandon us, leave us behind to feel the emptiness of our souls that your absence creates.” He put the back of his hand to his forehead and leaned back tragically.

“So glad you feel that way.” She pulled back and winked. Stiles chuckled and caught her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

“Hey, tell Allison and Issac that we’re gonna have a pack meeting Tuesday night, yeah? And Sophie if you see her.”

“Yeah, no problem!” Lydia squeezed back and then scurried towards the door. “Bye!”

“Bye!” They chorused. As soon as the door closed behind her, Derek and Cora’s heads whipped towards Stiles.

“So...” Cora said slyly. “What’s going on between you two?” She smirked. Derek outright grinned. Stiles raised an eyebrow at them and grabbed the remote, turning off the tv as he stretched and threw the covers back.

“What do you mean?”

“She means, what’s going on between you two? Lydia’s scent permeates this apartment, she blushes every time you touch her and she showed up yesterday morning wearing your sweatshirt.” Derek clarified as Stiles stood and gathered the takeout boxes and plates leftover from breakfast.

“Her scent is everywhere because she didn’t leave the apartment for a solid week; and everybody steals my clothes, it’s one of the disadvantages of being the alpha.”

“I notice you didn’t mention the blushing.” Cora raised an eyebrow right back at him. Clearly she had inherited her brother’s favorite form of expression. Stiles sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Look, guys, I’m the alpha, it’s my job to make sure that everyone in my pack feels protected, that they’re happy, and that they’re comfortable with how I’m running things. Lydia’s been here for just under two weeks and she’s only been pack for four or five days. She doesn’t know the city, she doesn’t have a job here, I mean, she hasn’t even met all of the pack yet. Give her some time before you start pushing her into the arms of eligible werewolves.” He crossed his arms.

“Oh, so you _don’t_ want to make her your mate?” Cora raised the other eyebrow. Stiles threw his arms up and then rubbed a hand over his face.

“Oh for...” He sighed. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I do. But again, it’s been less then a month. And she hasn’t seen me in nine years, I’m practically a stranger! She needs time.”

“She’s the only one who gets to decide that.”

“Then _I_ need time!” He turned around and stalked to the sink, filling it with soapy water and beginning to aggressively wash the dishes. He made sure to keep his posture neutral, however, so that the Hales knew he wasn’t upset with _them_.

“Stiles, I don’t get it, it’s obvious that you two are crazy about each other, why are you so against this?” Derek came up behind him with more plates and set them on the counter, before leaning a hip against it and watching him. Stiles sighed, closed his eyes and braced his hands against the edge of the sink, hanging his head in surrender.

“Because. The mating bond has already settled for me. It did a long time ago, I just never realized it because I’ve been a little busy the last fifteen years of my life. Apparently it’s been happy to lie dormant because she was on the other side of the country and in a different pack, but now that she’s here, that she’s actually _my_ pack? It wants to snap into place and it is a _colossal_ struggle to keep it from doing that. I thought when my wolf wanted to make her pack it was hard, but this is ridiculous.” He took a breath and looked over, meeting Derek’s eyes. “Just because she’s interested in me does not mean she wants to jump into a permanent relationship with a man she hasn’t seen in a decade. She deserves to get to know who I’ve become before she decides whether or not she wants to be my mate.”

“Stiles.” Cora’s voice was aghast. “You’ve had a partial mate bond for _fifteen_ years?! How are you not insane?” She and Derek both stared at him. Stiles chuckled darkly.

“Well the insanity is a matter of opinion, but it’s only been about ten years. It happened right before the surrogate sacrifices.” _When she kissed me._ “Then came the whole nogitsune debacle and everything got shoved aside. I didn’t actually realize I even had the bond until a few days ago.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Stiles.” Derek’s voice was shaky. “Ignoring a mating bond...”

“I know.” Stiles interrupted. “I’m keeping an eye on it. I can last a little longer before I have to tell her.” He smiled softly at his betas. “It’ll be okay. The pack’s strong, it’ll take a lot more than me acting a little short-tempered for a few days to break it apart. I’m not gonna risk the pack, I promise.” He glanced back and forth between Derek and Cora, making sure they heard the unspoken promise too. _I’m not gonna be like Scott._ Stiles knew now what had made Scott so crazy, because he could feel it himself. Scott had had a partial mating bond with Allison, and she had died before he could get an answer. Usually the bond would just fade, but Scott had somehow managed to hold on to it, and it had driven him insane. Stiles had a few ideas on how to fix that, but for now, his priority was keeping his own pack from feeling the ramifications of the effects from _his_ unanswered mating bond. He sighed. The next few days were going to be very long.


	14. Chapter 14

“Dude. _What_ was _that_?!”

“I know.”

“Like, you just... _lost_ it!”

“I know.”

“I have _never seen...”_

“Issac!” Stiles took a deep breath, counted to ten, and then let it out in a poof. “I know. I’m aware that I lost it, I was there.” It was Tuesday, and the confrontation with Sophies ex Erik, hadn’t gone well. Stiles vaguely remembered threatening to rip off the vampire’s arms and beat him with them... but for the most part it was just a rage filled haze. He had managed to pull himself out of it before doing any real damage, either to the vampire or to the public’s general knowledge of the existence of supernatural creatures but it had been too close, and he knew it. The last few days had been hell, the wolf inside him desperately craving an answer from his mate, making him short tempered and more prone to violence than he had ever been in his life. He’d even been called in by a concerned superior at work after he had nearly shoved a suspect’s head through a nearby window. He was out of time, he had to tell Lydia tonight or else it was going to start costing his pack. Already, he was taking it out on Issac. He took another deep breath and then clapped a hand on Issac’s shoulder.

“Sorry buddy. It’s been a long couple of days... Didn’t mean to snap.”

“It’s alright. No harm, no foul.” Issac shrugged, but Stiles continued to press the issue. With Issac’s background, Stiles always tried to exceed even more caution than usual when he was talking with him. He pulled Issac around to face him and put a hand on each shoulder.

“No, it’s not alright. I’m... dealing with something and I let it get the best of me. I took it out on you, and that’s not alright, you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.” He stared Issac in the eyes until Issac nodded, smiling a little.

“Apology accepted. Everybody’s gotta go through stuff every now and then.”

“Man, ain’t that the truth.” He turned to the silent Sophie who was walking alongside them.

“How you doing? Regardless of how I went about it, I’m pretty sure Erik won’t be bothering you again.” Stiles asked. Sophie shrugged uneasily.

“I mean, I think you’re right about that, but it looks like I’ve just caused even more trouble for you.” She grimaced. Stiles threw an arm around her shoulders.

“Nope! That was me. _I_ caused more trouble for me by not keeping it together. _You_ were the epitome of self-control. Don’t worry about it, everything’ll be fine.” Mentally, Stiles crossed his fingers. He _really_ needed to talk to Lydia. Hopefully he’d be able to keep himself in check during the trial that will inevitably be the pack meeting after the pack finds out about the stunt he just pulled.

***

“You will _not_ believe what just happened!” Issac announced as the three of them walked into the warehouse where the rest of the pack was assembled.

“Issac...” Stiles groaned.

“Stiles _lost it._ We were talking with Erik, telling him to back off and leave Sophie alone and he wouldn’t and suddenly Stiles just gets right up in Erik’s face and starts threatening to beat him with his own dismembered limbs! It was amazing! Erik freaked out! He tried to shove Stiles back and Stiles _growled_ at him! I’ve never heard him growl before and let me tell you, I thought I was gonna wet my pants, and I was on Stiles’ side!”

“Enough, Issac.” It wasn’t _quite_ a growl, but it was close enough that the entire pack fell completely silent. Issac and Sophie went quietly to sit down while Stiles took several deep breaths.

“Okay, long story short... odds are good I just started a war with the vampires. They’ll probably send a diplomatic embassy over later to politely inform us that we’re at war, and to make peace with our makers before we meet them... yadda yadda yadda.” Lydia got up and walked over to Stiles. She got close enough that their arms were brushing, but she kept her back to the pack.

“What’s going on with you?” She looked up at him, but he didn’t return her gaze.

“What do you mean?” He had to remember to unclench his jaw.

“You’ve been testy all week, Derek and Cora keep staring at you like you’re about to explode and now you’re picking fights and starting wars with vampires? What happened to the ridiculously iron self-control you had last week?”

“I’m fine.” He still didn’t look at her, afraid that if he did, he would lose the fight entirely.

“You’re not fine, Stiles what...”

“ _I said I’m fine_!” Now he glanced at her and her eyes were wide. Clearly this wasn’t working. He looked around at the politely concerned faces of his pack, and the blatantly worried faces of Derek and Cora and sighed. Grabbing the arm that had been brushing his, Stiles walked backwards several yards, pulling Lydia along with him, swinging around at the last minute so that his back was facing the pack instead of hers. He threw up a barrier of wind between them and the pack; it wouldn’t prevent them from hearing everything, but it would definitely help.

“Sorry.” He let go of her arm and rubbed his face with both hands. She placed a hand on his bicep.

“Stiles, what is going on?” She looked up at him again and he met her gaze straight on.

“My wolf mated with you. I’ve been... off the last few days because it’s been waiting for an answer and when it doesn’t get one...” He trailed off as Lydia clapped a hand over her mouth.

“That’s why Scott lost it! Because his wolf mated with Allison but she died before she could give him an answer! Stiles! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I could tell you were interested in me Lyds. I didn’t wanna force you into a rushed answer. The mating bond is permanent, not like the pack bonds. It can’t be broken. I didn’t want to force or frighten you into one answer or the other.”

“How long have you been waiting for an answer?” The look on Lydia’s face was one he’d never seen before... almost a contemplative dawning, like an answer was about to be assigned to a question that she didn’t know she had had.

“I only realized the bond was in place the night the bounty hunters showed up looking for you... after we had got home.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. Stiles sighed.

“The bond settled back in junior year, right before the surrogate sacrifices.”

“When I kissed you!” Her eyes were huge now. Stiles tilted his head.

“Yeah, how did you...”

“It doesn’t matter, my answer is yes.”

“What?”

“Yes! My answer is yes! How does this mating bond thing work?” She poked his chest experimentally and hope flooded him. Still, he shook his head.

“Lydia, you gotta think about this, you can’t just answer because you think it’ll help my temper... now that you know I can wait a few more days for you to decide.”

“No, Stiles!” She growled, she actually growled. Taken aback by the canine utterance coming from a banshee, Stiles was utterly unprepared when Lydia gripped his jacket with both fists and pulled him down to her, meeting his lips with her own and nearly knocking them both over in the process. His body kicked into gear before his mind did, and he wrapped his arms around her and stepped forwards just enough to keep their balance, their bodies molding to each other as he did so. The mating bond slammed into effect, making Lydia gasp and allowing Stiles to deepen the kiss. Some small part of his brain, (for which he was _very_ grateful later on) reminded him that they were in a public area with the entire pack watching, and he somehow managed to restrain himself from picking her up and carrying her off. After a few... moments? hours? minutes? he wasn’t sure; they finally pulled away from each other, the necessity to breathe becoming crucial. He leaned his forehead against hers and, eyes closed, they both inhaled each other’s presence.

“It can’t be undone.” He finally whispered.

“Good.” She whispered back. “Now, lets go deal with this little vampire issue you’ve created. We can sort everything else out later.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the pack. He dropped the wind barrier and followed willingly. He tried to keep the grin off of his face, but judging by the smirks on the pack’s collective faces, he wasn’t doing a very good job. He spotted the relieved faces of the Hales in the crowd and winked at them. Blinking back his pleasure at actually having Lydia as his mate, he focused in on the task at hand.

***

Lydia looked over at Stiles just in time to see him school his face into alpha mode. It was amazing, really how good he was at that. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything besides the man next to her and the solid, intimate connection now entwining the two of them. She felt surrounded by his presence and she knew instinctively that that feeling would never cease; until death do them part. She had never expected to have a mating bond because, as a rule, banshees were solitary creatures; but she knew from what little research she could dig up that when a banshee _did_ mate, her bond would emulate the bond of whatever creature she had mated with. Clearly a werewolf’s bond was strong and extremely protective.When Stiles had told her what had made his mating bond trigger, several things had clicked into place at once. When she had kissed Stiles, oh so long ago, something had happened. It was so minuscule that she hadn’t noticed it at first. But Deaton clearly had, given that he had asked her to help Stiles for the surrogate sacrifices. And then she noticed a certain fondness for Stiles that wasn’t there before. And she would catch herself staring at him, depending on him. After Allison was gone and Stiles had left, her soul had mourned. She had convinced herself that it was for Allison but looking back... When she had finally pulled herself out of it there was an emptiness that she studiously ignored; and her bond, like his, laid dormant for the years they were apart. When they had found each other again, she was surprised at the fierce joy that had accompanied their reunion. As she had told Allison and Issac, she was concerned it was just an effect of Stiles saving her but when he told her that he was mated to her... Everything suddenly made sense and her answer was easy. _O_ _f course_ she wanted to be his mate, he was hers, after all. When she kissed him and he responded and the bond finally, _finally_ cemented, it felt as though a piece of her that she hadn’t even realized she was missing finally slid into place. She felt fierce and whole and, when she looked at Stiles, fiercely possessive. He must have felt her sentiment flowing through; because his mouth quirked slightly before continuing on debriefing the pack with what, exactly, he had done while in the midst of his internal turmoil. Even so, she felt him respond, sending a possessiveness just as fierce back to her. Shivering in delight she glanced down at their still-entwined hands before pulling herself back into the conversation.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gahhhh this chapter is super short guys, I was working three jobs this week and I just didn’t have time to edit the second half of it... if I finish it before next Friday I’ll go ahead and post it early :)

Stiles was in the throws of explaining how, exactly, he had brought a potential war to his pack, when the pack stiffened. A warning had come through the bonds from the wolves on patrol. _Vampires, coming fast._ In an instant, the pack had bounded into a battle formation; groups of three or four standing back to back, all positioned in a large circle. Stiles continued to grip Lydia’s hand, and they were the only two not in a group. In silence, they waited. A beat went by, and then the ceiling and several parts of the wall exploded as a couple dozen vampires came crashing through. Lydia recalled that that was something she had forgotten to ask Sophie, whether vampires needed an invitation to enter someone’s property. Apparently not.

“So much for a diplomatic embassy.” Stiles muttered. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go and striding forwards a pace. Lydia shadowed him, staying just behind his right shoulder.

“John Smith! Whatever brings you here today?” He addressed the clear leader.

“John Smith?” Lydia muttered. Stiles shrugged slightly.

“He likes the ambiguity.” He whispered back.

“If you’re done talking about me in front of my face?” The vamp sneered.

“Better than behind your back, eh Johnny? What’s up? To what do we owe the pleasure of this rather extraordinary entrance? You know you’re gonna pay for those holes right?”

“You violently attacked one of my subordinates earlier today. That’s war.”

“Attacked? No. Berated? Absolutely. Warned off in an aggressive manner? Yeah, a bit. Threatened? Maybe a little. But attacked? No.” Stiles stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels a little, leaning just slightly against Lydia until centering his balance again.

“I believe you told him you were going to thrash him with his own dismembered limbs.” John seemed unimpressed.

“Okay, so I threatened him a lot. However, may I remind you that Erik’s been stalking one of my pack members for the last... four? Months or so?” Stiles shrugged again.

 _“Your_ pack? Sophie is a part of _my_ coven! You coerced her to you! I want her back!” John hissed.

“Good grief! What is it with these ridiculous tyrants accusing me of stealing their people? Sophie came to me, and you didn’t seem to care when she did, _seven years_ ago. Face it John. This isn’t about Sophie, and it isn’t about how aggressive, and admittedly it _was_ aggressive, I got with Erik.” Stiles’s shoulders were set, and Lydia could feel the pack subtly shifting themselves behind her, ensuring they had the best advantage for a fight.

“Then what is it about?” John tilted his head in an oddly stilted way, taking a step down the rubble he had created with his entrance. It was a deliberate move, calculated to not only make him _look_ more dangerous, but also to give him a better foothold with which to leap.

“Territory. I have it, you want it. You just needed an excuse to attack and heaven knows I gave it to you this morning.”

“Yesss.” The more he talked, the more John’s words slurred. Lydia wondered why and Stiles responded silently. _He hasn’t fed today. Preparing for battle_. She tried not to startle at the words that appeared into her mind. Since no one seemed to notice she decided she must have succeeded. She felt Stiles chuckle in her head and one more word appeared. _Sorry._ She sent him a grin and he grinned back. Huh. Communicating through the bonds seemed so much easier now. John continued talking.

“Yesss you did. My ssubordinate says you were behaving _quite_ erratic this morning. You sseem to be having noo trouble now. Why would that be? Could it bee that the woman at your side hass centered you? Have you found your _mate._ Stiles? Perhapss I will _feed_ on her _first.”_ John bared his fangs and Stiles’ growl _ripped_ through the warehouse. To Lydia’s surprise, however, the growl quickly faded to a chuckle, before he sidestepped to stand beside her, no longer blocking her from view.

“By all means, John. Go ahead.” His assurance was strong through the bond and Lydia could feel his humor. John’s eyes bled red and he took another step forwards, but before he could attack, Stiles spoke again.

“Oh, did I not introduce you? How rude of me. John, this is Lydia, my mate.” He paused, clearly for effect. “She’s a banshee.” John brought himself up short, hissing. Stiles kept talking. 

“Oh that’s right, banshees are deadly to vampires aren’t they? One scream turns you to dust doesn’t it? Something about both being creatures of death.” He stared at the vampire and a feral grin broke on his face. Lydia mimicked his expression, seeing that not only had Stiles thrown the vampire off his game, but had gotten him to change his stance; John was now standing on a highly unstable board. If he were to leap now, he’d lose his balance and fall.

“Youuu bring a _banshee_ into _my_ territoryyy?” John seethed.

“This is _my_ territory John.” Stiles’ voice was cold.

“Not for longg.” Without further ado, John attacked.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright gang, here we go! Sorry it took so long to get up, but hopefully this will bring a little levity to today’s crazy. It hasn’t been beta’d because reasons so it’s a little clunky but I wanted you to be able to read it!!!

Lydia had been in quite a few battles over the years. Even with Scott’s no-violence policy, it couldn’t be completely avoided. So she knew how to fight. She knew how to watch her back. She knew how to move with a pack. None of that had prepared her for this. Stiles’ pack moved together like water, flowing around each other, knowing inherently where each person was going to be and how they were going to move. Kira had activated her belt katana and was elegantly hacking away. Issac, having clearly picked up a few tricks in France, was gracefully shredding anything that came within reach of his claws. Caroline, Mark, and all the other werewolves were split pretty equally between using their claws, teeth, and straight-up muscle. Stiles was throwing fireballs, and wasn’t _that_ an interesting thing to watch. He was obviously able to multitask too, because Allison hollered something at him and he sent a fireball spinning over to her. Instead of hitting her, it started following her around and she began using it to light her arrows before shooting them off. Lydia herself was sending scream after scream out, careful to avoid Sophie as she did so, keeping the vampires at bay and dusting quite a few in the process. She felt a flush of pride when one got too close to her and she easily flipped him over her shoulder, sending a scream after him before he had even landed.

In those first seconds, when John had jumped her, he had twisted in the air as she screamed, managing to avoid the blast, but doing so had put him within an arms reach of Stiles, who had taken full advantage of it. He had sent John flying and she had yet to see him rejoin the throes of battle. One of the overstuffed armchairs came flying at her and she bent backwards into a bridge to avoid it. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her that she could have avoided it in a less dramatic way, but the impressed expression on the wolf beside her as she straightened back up was definitely worth it. She moved on to the next threat. It was obvious that the pack and the coven were fairly evenly matched; while the wolves clearly had the upper hand when it came to strength, the vampires were _very_ fast. Despite this, the pack was slowly gaining the upper hand. As this became apparent, a shudder of unspoken agreement ran through the vampires. In a clearly calculated move, one of the vamps darted out and shoved Sophie out of the saftey of the group she was fighting with, and in an instant John appeared and had her, his clawed hand gripping her neck tightly. Caroline and Mark grabbed Issac and held him back when he heaved forwards, snarling.

“Everyyone freeze! One more move and she’ss dead!” John barked. He stood immediately behind Sophie, crouching as he used her for a shield, several vampires and a wall at his back. No one moved. At another word from John, some of the more skilled fighters among the pack were surrounded, Kira, Caroline, Jesse, Issac and Allison included. Lydia wondered how they thought they were going to keep Allison where they wanted her, but when she went insubstantial the vamps were still somehow able to grab ahold of her.

“I can feeel you thinkingg Stilinski. Sstop it. Down on your knees!” Lydia could see Stiles quivering, he was so angry, but he couldn’t torch John without killing Sophie and no one else could to get to her. Slowly, he complied. Roughly, two of the vampires pinned his arms behind him.

“You want the territory? You can have it. Let her go. Let them go.” Stiles’ eyes were rapidly flipping colors and you could literally see him counting all the different ways he wanted to kill John. Lydia inched to the side.

“And let you all run offf to your alliess? Come back to killl us alll? No Stiless... you have too much power to let you live.”

“Fine.” Stiles spat. “You want my life? Take it! Kill me, just let them go.” Lydia shuddered as he spoke, feeling the earnestness in his words. She shifted again. Just a little farther...

“I’m afffriad that won’t work eiither. The packs you have alllied with would be too eager to avvenge your death if your pack asssked. All of you mussst die. Whom shall we starrt withh? Ah yess... how about your new _mate_?” John smiled wickedly, showing his fangs. Stiles surged forwards, and a third vampire had to come help hold him down. Lydia could feel his distress, he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his mate for his pack, but neither was he willing to sacrifice his pack for his mate. If he tried to save Lydia, Sophie would die. If he tried to save Sophie... His mind stuttered and he couldn’t even finish the thought. She tried to move a little more and then there was a vampire at her elbow.

“Enjoy boysss, but remember what she isss... don’t let her ssscream.” John hissed gleefully, still gripping Sophie tightly. Time slowed as Lydia glanced at Stiles, his anguished face for once an open book to read. She narrowed her eyes determinedly and started to shift once more, even as the vamps reached for her.

“If you harm either one of my daughters, a hell you can’t even begin to imagine is going to be rained down on you.” At the sound of his voice, everyone’s heads whipped around. Chris Argent stood in the ruins of one of the walls, a gun in one hand, acetylene torch in the other. Jackson was by his side, fully shifted. Their unexpected yet extremely timely interruption was exactly what Lydia needed. She took one more small step to the right and now she was just enough to the side of Sophie and John... she could still remember those days in Eichen House, Meredith whispering in her ear. _My voice was a bomb, Lydia, yours needs to be a bullet_. Lydia screamed. John disintegrated and Sophie fell to the floor unharmed. With a howl that was more roar than anything else, Stiles threw the vampires off of him and charged. Flames, bullets, and banshee screams flew. Issac had flung himself to Sophie’s side and was hunched over her, daring anyone to come near. Chris freed Allison with remarkable swiftness and the two of them stood back to back, wreaking havoc. Jackson had thrown himself into the fray with gusto and was flipping skillfully through the vampires, a... _tail_? waving behind him doing nearly as much damage as he was. Lydia screamed and Kira’s captors dissolved. Stiles threw flames, shot water, blasted air and brought stabbing roots up out of the ground with near-reckless abandon; his anger palpable in the room, yet not one of his missiles hit a member of the pack. Faced with his fury and the fury of his mate, the very few remaining vampires fled. Making a long arm, Stiles grabbed Kristof, John’s former second in command by the shirt collar and shoved his face into the vampires.

“You will not get a second chance.” He growled. “If I so much as scent you or yours in this _state_ I _will_ hunt you down and kill you. Have I made myself clear?” His eyes were flashing again. Kristof nodded frantically.

“We won’t, I promise, I didn’t even wanna come here, I wanted no part of this, please, we’re gone!” The vampire stammered.

“Good.” Stiles hurled him away, sending the vampire through the wall and creating yet another hole that would need to be repaired. He turned, darting around the rubble and heading straight for Lydia and Sophie. Issac was helping Sophie up off of the ground and Stiles came around the other side, gently grasping Sophie around the waist and letting her lean on him, pulling Issac with her into the hug as well. He reached over and grabbed Lydia, pulling her in to him and kissing her hungrily. Lydia responded in kind, trying to shove away all the scenarios where they lost out of her mind. When they pulled back she buried her face in his chest and he rested his chin on her head, even as he looked down at Sophie.

“You alright kid?” He asked gently. Sophie nodded, wide-eyed. Lydia turned her head so she could see Sophie as well, a sense of responsibility coming over her to check on her pack.

“I’m fine, my necks already healed...” Sophie looked at Lydia. “How did you do that? When you screamed I thought...” Lydia smiled.

“A long time ago a... friend... taught me how to make my voice a bullet and I’ve had _lots_ of practice since. I wouldn’t have screamed if I thought it would have touched you. I wouldn’t have risked it.” As she spoke Stiles gripped them both for a moment longer, before kissing the tops of both their heads. He pulled away, exchanging a long look with Lydia, silent communication flowing freely between the two of them. After a beat he nodded first at her, then at Issac and went to check the rest of his pack. Lydia momentarily stayed with Sophie; she looked around and found a part of an armchair that hadn’t been _too_ badly damaged and perched Sophie on the edge of it with Issac standing guard behind, before joining Stiles in checking on the rest of the pack. It was a testament to their skill in battle that most of them were relatively unharmed; the majority already healing or healed. A few had limbs that needed setting; only one, a wolf named Chuck, was seriously injured, having gotten a massive slice from a vampires claws. Lydia watched as Stiles squatted besides his wolf and placed his hand on the wound, his eyes glowing a bright green. When he pulled back the gash had closed and color was already coming back into Chuck’s cheeks. Derek and Cora, both born wolves with vast experience in combat were the least injured, and they moved around like Stiles and Lydia, helping those who needed it and clearing away some of the rubble. Finally, Stiles made his way over to Argent and Allison, nodding Jackson over as he did so. Allison, having flickered in and out of insubstaniability, hadn’t been hurt at all, but her father was worriedly inspecting her regardless. Lydia joined them and slipped her hand into Stiles’.

“Chris.” Stiles said, extending a hand. “Your timing was superb. I owe you. Jackson, you too.” Chris shook Stiles’ hand and his own head.

“You brought me my daughter back Stiles, no matter how accidentally, I will never be able to repay you for that. I’m just glad I was able to help!”

“How did you know?” Stiles asked. Chris shook his head again.

“I didn’t. I had been planning on coming for a visit when Lydia disappeared, so I put it off to see if I could find her, just to make sure she was safe. When Scott came back spitting mad saying that ‘there were traitors littering Michigan”, I felt like I knew what had happened and hightailed it out here. When I got to the apartments I found Jackson in the lobby, pacing a hole in the floor. He said he’d been hearing sounds of a battle but hadn’t been able to trace them back to the warehouse.” Chris looked over as Jackson took up the story.

“Yeah, I knew you’d all be at the warehouse because Lydia told me about the pack meeting, but the sounds were impossible to follow because of the city noise and following your scents lead me a merry chase that ended up back at the apartment building. I was just racking my brains trying to figure out how to come help when Argent showed up.” Jackson shrugged.

“I knew where to go from previous visits so we booked it over here.”

“And arrived just in time to give Lydia her opportunity to blast John.” Stiles squeezed her hand. “Thank God!”

“Speaking of Lydia!” Chris turned to Lydia. “Come here other daughter, it’s good to see you safe and sound.” Lydia eagerly hugged the man who had indeed become her surrogate father in the years that Allison and Stiles had been gone.

“Chris, it’s so good to see you too.” As she pulled away, Chris turned back to Stiles.

“Don’t think I missed that kiss between you two once the battle was over. I don’t care if you are a friend _or_ the most powerful alpha on the east side of the country, if you hurt my girl I will gut you like a fish without hesitation or remorse. Capisce?” There was humor in his face but his voice was deadly serous. Stiles grinned, pleased, and nodded, putting an arm around Lydia.

“Understood Sir.” He smiled down at Lydia. Jackson spluttered.

“Wait, what? When did _that_ happen?! You’ve only been gone four hours!”


	17. Chapter 17

When they had finished laughing at Jackson, Stiles transported the entire pack, Argent and Jackson included, straight to his apartment. Lydia had absolutely no idea how the entire pack managed to _fit_ in said apartment, because she’d lived there for a week and it had been small for _two_ people, but somehow, when they had shoved all the furniture out into the hall, and opened up the door to Stiles’ bedroom, and thrown cushions and blankets all over the floor, everybody had their own spot and seemed remarkably comfortable. Even Jackson seemed content, squished in between Derek and the wall. Cora was on the other side of Derek, her back curled into his side so she could still keep an eye on where Stiles was, still needing the assurance of her alpha now that the adrenaline of battle had faded. Issac and Sophie had clearly become an official item somewhere in the three seconds of travel time in between the warehouse and the apartment; they were cuddled close, snuggled into each other in a way that was very similar to all the other couples in the pack. Even Argent was puppy pile-adjacent, sitting up, leaning against the wall where the TV had been, his arm wrapped around Allison’s shoulder.

Despite how many people were crowded in, the apartment was fairly quiet, soft murmurings being exchanged by those not yet asleep. The only other sounds were the ones Stiles was making in the kitchen as he cooked for his pack. After a battle, especially one that was somewhat unexpected, there was no way he was exposing his pack to strangers, even ones bringing food. Lydia sat on the counter in her usual spot, quietly handing him ingredients and utensils as he needed them. He watched her as he cooked, smiling every time their eyes met, which happened often as she was also watching him. She seemed jittery, and he could feel through the bonds her uncertainty in how to proceed. This, he knew, was all new territory for her, and while it was new territory for him as well, he had the advantage of living with mated wolves for several years; he knew what to expect far more than she did. Even so, it wasn’t until he felt her settle when he accidentally brushed her leg as he reached over her to grab the salt, that he remembered just how much more important touch was for mated couples than it was for regular packmates. From then on he made it a point to touch her as he moved through the motions required to cook for thirty some-odd people; brushing her with his arm as he reached past her for something, letting his fingers linger on hers as she handed him something, leaning against her leg as he stirred the frypans. Each time he could feel her settle more, sinking into the comfortable confidence that was their newly acquired bond. It was certainly doing the same for him. He had thought that living with a partial bond had been hell, but it had been nothing compared to coming so close to losing her. He hadn’t known what to do, he was the alpha, it was his job to protect his pack and he had come so close to spectacularly failing tonight; not only to protect his pack but to protect the one thing that he couldn’t live without and he had almost lost them both. If Chris and Jackson hadn’t come in when they did...

“Hey.” Lydia’s soft voice broke into his thoughts and her hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality, grounding him in a way he hadn’t felt in years. He looked up and met her gaze. She smiled gently.

“We’re okay. Everyone’s okay and we’re all here. The “what if’s” didn’t happen. We won.” She maintained eye contact and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, loosening his death grip on the spatula at the same time. He huffed a laugh and leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes for a second.

“So much for my so-called impeccable control. Hopefully things are gonna calm down from here on out. I don’t think I can take much more of this, and I know my cooking utensils can’t.” He pulled back and eyed the spatula handle that was now badly misshapen. Lydia chuckled.

“Oh, I don’t know, I think I like you a little... unglued.” Her tone caught his attention and when he raised an eyebrow and side-eyed her she pursed her lips, raising _both_ her eyebrows back at him. He tried to stifle a smile as he went back to watching what he was stirring, but a moment later he purposefully got unnecessarily close as he reached behind her for the paprika.

“Oh, you haven’t begun to see me unglued yet.” He breathed into her ear as he pulled away. The smirk came out full bloom as he heard a spike in her heartbeat and saw the blush that was rapidly coloring her cheeks. She shoved him a little but kept smiling.

“Stiles!” She hissed. “We’re surrounded by werewolves, people can hear you!” She glanced around, noticing several faint smiles on people who were _clearly not_ listening in. He shrugged.

“They’re adults and we’re mated, frankly the fact that we’re not all over each other right now is a testament to our self control.” He winked at her and plated the contents of one of the frypans. She blushed harder and looked down.

“So it’s not just me? Because... it’s _really_ strong.” Her fingers were twisting themselves in a very un-Lydia, uncertain sort of way. Stiles mentally facepalmed. So that was why she was so jittery, she was insecure because she thought he wasn’t feeling the same pull she was. Setting the empty frypan in the sink and wiping his hands off, he walked back over to her and put one hand on either side of her hips, caging her in with his arms. She looked up, surprised, and he took full advantage of it to kiss her. _Throughly._ By the time they pulled away they had become plastered against each other, arms wound tightly around the other. He loosened his grip around her just enough that he could pull back and look her in the eyes.

“No.” He whispered. “It’s not just you.”

***

Lydia’s emotions were in a turmoil. While they were cooking, Stiles had seemed so composed, she couldn’t imagine that he was possibly feeling what she was. But then he had kissed her, _really_ kissed her, and all that doubt went away. Pulling back from the kiss and calming down the feelings it evoked, she couldn’t help but marvel at the man in front of her, he had been so different when they were kids and yet, he had hardly changed at all. In a very canine gesture, he bumped his nose against hers and brought her back to the present.

“What’s going through that head of yours?” He asked quietly.

“Well for one thing I think your chicken is burning.” She smirked. His eyes widened and his head whipped over to look at the stovetop.

“Gahh!” He reacted quickly, turning down the burner and stirring the chicken... adding a few more ingredients and guiltily checking over his shoulder to see if anyone else had noticed. Lydia tried to hide her smile but the smirk that blossomed on Stiles’ face told her that she was failing miserably. “Hey, like you could have done any better!” He teased.

“Oh, I’m not denying it. Even distracted, you’re _still_ a better cook than I am when I’m paying full attention.” She grinned. Stiles huffed a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had a _lot_ of practice.” He turned off all the burners and finished plating all the rest of the food, piled the dishes in the sink, and turned back to Lydia. “So, besides my burning chicken, what _else_ is going through that head of yours?” He looked over his shoulder for a second to quietly tell the still-awake pack members that food was ready before diverting his full attention back to her. Lydia shrugged.

“It’s just, everything’s changed so quickly. I’ve been here less than a month, and my life’s so much better. I’m free, I have a solid pack, I have Allison back, I have you back, I have a... a mate.” She licked her lips, staring at him in wonder. “How did you do all that?” Stiles shook his head.

“I didn’t, you did. _You’re_ the one who saw your chance, took it, and ran. _You_ confronted Scott, _you_ knocked his pack down like a bunch of bowling pins, _you_ saved my... _our_ pack from John’s coven... heck you’re even the one who sealed the mating bond between us. That was all _you_ Lydia. All I did was keep you from blasting a hole in the subway with that potent voice of yours and give you a place to lay low for a while.” His eyes were proud as he smiled down at her.

“Well then, thank you for doing that much, at least.”

“My pleasure.” He laughed.

“So what happens now?” She tilted her head.

“In general? Or for us in particular?”

“Both.” She said decisively.

“Well, in general, we join in on the puppy pile and get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll go over what I originally wanted to go over when I set the meeting in the first place. For us, we take it however fast or slow you want to. You did just move in with Allison and Issac, and I don’t think Derek and Cora are quite ready to move out, but you’re more that welcome to move back in here.” He finished talking and Lydia shook her head.

“I’m kind of enjoying my independence. I mean I know I’m rooming it but I’m enjoying myself. Do you mind if I stay downstairs with them for a little while?” She looked at him in uncertainty. Stiles shook his head.

“No, not at all. Just because we’re mated doesn’t mean we have to immediately shack up together. It’s about being partners, being there for each other. Clearly there’s a sexual aspect in there for us but not all mated couples are like that, some stay platonic their entire lives. Some share a house but not a bed, some live as neighbors, some are romantically involved. Every pair is different, we get to figure out what’s right for us. If you wanna stay with Allison and Issac, that’s totally fine. We’ll figure things out as we go.” He smiled and softly rubbed his thumb along the side of her thigh. Lydia rested her arms around his neck and leaned in so their foreheads were touching, closing her eyes.

“Okay.” She said, then paused. “I like this. I like being able to touch you. I like being held by you. I like being your mate.” She whispered. Unable to resist, Stiles gathered her up in his arms and held her close.

“I like being yours.” He whispered back. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I just want to stay like this forever.” She snuggled deeper into his arms. Stiles huffed a laugh.

“I think that can be arranged.” Glancing at the door to make sure that it was locked and the wards were in place, Stiles made his way over to Allison and Chris, who shifted over to make room for him. Carefully, he lowered himself and Lydia down onto the piles of cushions and arranged himself so that there were both comfortable, snuggled underneath a soft blanket. Lydia felt him lean his head back against the wall and look out over his pack; most of them were sound asleep, but a few of them were still eating. Chuck was resting peacefully, fully healed after Stiles had interceded. She knew that Stiles wouldn’t sleep until his second, Colin, was well-rested and able to take over watch, so she snuggled in and set herself to watch with him. She made eye contact with Allison who winked at her, making her smile. Unwinding one hand from around Stiles, she reached out and started a thumb war with Allison, making Stiles’ chest rumble with a quiet laugh.

“You can go to sleep you know. I’ll still be here when you wake up.” He whispered into her hair. She looked up at him.

“I’ll sleep when you do.” She smiled, then jumped as she felt Allison take advantage of her distraction and pin her thumb. Stiles laughed again and she playfully nudged his chin with her forehead. “Shut up you.” She whispered.

“Hey, I can’t help it if you’re terrible at thumb wars.”

“Oh yeah?” She held her hand up to him. “I challenge you! Loser has to kiss the winner!” She popped her eyebrows at him. He grinned wolfishly.

“Challenge accepted.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Alright. Pack meeting, come to order! Issac! Sophie! If you two insist on canoodling, do it quietly!” Stiles grinned as the two in question turned red amongst their packmate’s snickers. “Alright alright, leave’em alone. First order of business, we gotta get the warehouse either fixed up or torn down because the fire marshal called me earlier and told me that he’ll sick the cops on me if I let anybody in there for any other reasons and there is no way I’ll live that down at work. All in favor of fixing it?” Stiles looked around as about a third of the pack raised their hands. “All in favor of tearing it down and building a new one in its place?” The rest of the pack raised their hands and Stiles nodded. “Okay, tearing it down and starting over it is... Jake! Think your boys can handle it?” Stiles watched as Jake, an older wolf who owned a construction company with his sons, stood up.

“Yeah, no problem, work’s been a little slow the last couple of months anyways, we’ll get it done.” He looked at his two sons on either side of him and they nodded in agreement.

“Cool, consult with Caroline and Lydia, I’m sure they’ve already got some upgrades in mind for the new building.” Stiles looked fondly down at Lydia, who had elected to sit at his feet, her long legs stretched out in front of her as she leaned against his chair, one arm wrapped around Cora. Lydia nodded.

“Yeah, I was actually thinking that if we rebuild, we should section off a portion of the back of the building, make a couple spare rooms for storage, first aid, that sort of thing.” She smiled at Jake. Jake nodded slowly as he considered.

“Yeah... yeah we could do that, wouldn’t be too difficult either. I’ll grab you two after the meeting and we can make a time where you come to the office and we talk it out.” He sat down, abruptly. Jake was a man of limited social interactions.

“Okay, second item of business, who in the h...” Stiles looked around at the younger children who were also attending and hastily amended his next word. “...heck...” He cleared his throat. “Charged six-hundred and seventy-three dollars worth of _customized_ _shower_ _curtains_ to the pack credit card, and had it delivered to my apartment?” There was shocked silence for a beat, before laughter shook the pack. It got worse as Stiles went into his room and pulled out three large boxes and opened them up, flinging shower curtains with abandon around the room. “ _You_ get a shower curtain, and _you_ get a shower curtain, _everybody_ gets a shower curtain! I’m the Oprah of shower curtains!” The laughter became thunderous as people opened and shook out the curtains to see the prints; a giant ‘You don’t say’ meme of Nicolas Cage, a squirrel wearing a tiny cowboy hat and smoking a cigarette, one that had a life-sized Danny Devito on _both_ sides, a tie dye swirl with a hot dog in the center... and many, many more. By the time everyone had calmed down, at least half of the pack was swathed in shower curtain togas and the other half had tears streaming down their faces; Stiles was of the former group and Lydia of the latter. Sheepishly, Jesse stood up.

“Uhm... sorry... I think that might’ve been me...” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Might’ve been?” Lydia gasped as she tried to calm down. “You’re not sure?”

“Well... a couple of weeks ago, at Caroline’s birthday party? I had a couple of those wolfsbane beers? I didn’t realize how potent they were... anyways I don’t remember much after maybe two AM but I woke up to find my computer on a website that does customizable prints on... like... _everything_. I didn’t think to check to see if I had actually purchased anything. Sorry.” He grimaced, but Stiles just clapped him on the back.

“Don’t worry about it, the laughter alone was worth the money. Everybody sort through before you leave and see if there’s any curtains you want! Personally, I think I’m gonna grab that one with the kitten wearing the valentines boxer shorts.” He winked at Jesse as the relieved wolf sat down again.

“I want the one with Danny Devito, I’m gonna put it in my guest bath!” Somebody called out and the laughter started anew. Everybody shifted around and Stiles, still wearing his shower toga, made his way back to his chair, trying not to whack Lydia in the face as he sat back down.

“Okay, after that much-needed bit of levity, where were we?”

“We just finished the second item of business and decided that Jesse doesn’t get to drink wolfsbane beers anymore.” Caroline prompted. Jesse flushed and the pack chuckled some more.

“Yes! Thank you, Caroline, third item of business! Is the coffee shop done being rebuilt?” Stiles shifted so he could see Caroline a little better.

“It is.” She responded.

“Excellent. Then would you be so kind as to refurnish that final apartment in the building?”

“Already on it boss.” She smiled.

“And _that’s_ why you’re my favorite.” Stiles winked. “Okay. Last order of business, Allison!”He looked around for the ghost in question and she materialized behind him.

“Back here!” She said. Stiles hung his head over the back of the chair and looked at her.

“How would you feel about a road trip?” He asked.

“I was actually thinking along similar lines myself. Back to Beacon Hills you mean?” She came around in front of him, sat on thin air, crossed her legs and levitated some three feet off the ground. Lydia blinked, then shook her head smiling. Stiles kept talking.

“Exactly. How much do you want to bet that if you finally tell Scott ‘no’, and break that bond, some of his crazy will go away? I mean, you’ll probably have to haunt his furry behind for a while too, until he gets the hang of this alpha thing, but you like creeping up behind people and freaking them out. Plus I bet Chris would enjoy having you around for a while.” He glanced over at the man in question, who nodded.

“I certainly will. Do you really think it will help Scott?” Chris’s eyes bounced back and forth between his daughter and her alpha. They both nodded.

“Yeah, I think Stiles is right about why he went nuts in the first place. Him seeing me might have broken the partial bond when I told him that Stiles was my alpha, but I think I should probably go and make sure. Plus Stiles is right about the haunting.” Allison grinned mischievously. “Even if it doesn’t fix Scott, it’ll sure entertain _me_!”

“Sounds good to me!” Chris chuckled.

“Excellent!” Stiles clapped. “When you guys get there, make sure to keep a phone on you at all times in case you need an emergency exfil. It’ll only take me a minute to get to you.” He eyed Allison and Chris until they both nodded. “Okay, I think that about wraps it up, anybody else got some more business we’ve gotta deal with first?” He looked over as Matt raised his hand. “Matt? Whatcha got for us?”

“I’m hungry.” Matt said plaintively.

“Second the motion!” Angela called out.

“You guys just ate a couple of hours ago! Alright alright, all in favor of pizza raise your hands.” Stiles threw up his hands and shook his head. A number of people raised their hands but not everyone. “All in favor of Thai food?” The rest of them raised their hands, Lydia included. Stiles finished counting. “Thirteen to seventeen, Thai food it is.” There was a general cry of both victory and disappointment and Stiles sighed. “Okay! Fine! I’ll order pizza too! Used. That’s what I am, used.” He continued muttering, even as he pulled out his cell and dialed for the food, and Lydia caught the grin on his face. He caught her staring and winked. “Hi, Thai Terrace? Yeah, this is Stiles Stilinski, I’d like my usual order please, the large one...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of an abrupt ending there, sorry, but I hit writers block HARD this week... I might not be able to post anything next week because things, but I will try my very hardest! 😘 thanks for all the love! You guys are fantastic!!! ❤️


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think that I’m beginning the wrap up on this story, there’s probably only a few more chapters to go. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me and all the love you’ve sent! Also, I feel like this chapter is a little heavier than usual, but this IS a HEA story so don’t worry!! ALSO for those of you who’ve been reading this chapter by chapter and missed the edit, Colin is Stiles’ second in command. 😘

“That was Chris.” Stiles said as he hung up the phone. “He and Allison made it to Beacon Hills safely.”

“Good! They find Scott yet?” Lydia asked. Stiles laughed.

“So apparently, Allison jumped out of the car, marched straight into the preserve and screamed; ‘Get your furry butt out here you mangy tyrant or I’m gonna haunt the whole town and give old-people heart attacks!’ Which, obviously is something she’d never do but it did the trick.” He grinned. Lydia laughed.

“I take it Scott showed up?”

“Only took him about ten minutes. He was apparently _extremely_ sullen, and muttering something about how she’d picked up some terrible morals from you and me, but he came nonetheless.”

“What did she do to him?” Lydia was still smiling.

“Bawled him out for being an idiot, formally and ceremoniously rejected his mate bond, told him to shape up before she started haunting him, stomped her foot for emphasis and dissolved. She and Chris are at Chris’ place right now, somewhat expecting a visit from _someone_ in the pack anytime now.” Stiles chuckled and Lydia joined him.

“Allison’s my favorite.” She laughed as Stiles wrapped an arm around her.

“Hey!” He protested, looking mildly disgruntled.

“Oh, you know what I mean.” She returned his embrace and snuggled her head into his chest. It was date night, and they’d elected to stay in and watch what had been unanimously declared as _their_ show, Suits, while eating their favorite Chinese takeout. Derek and Cora had graciously gone out to dinner and a movie to give them some space.

“Do you think it’ll work?” She asked him, still snuggled in.

“I don’t know, ten years is a lot of crazy to have to undo, but I have great faith in Allison, not to mention Chris, my Dad, and Melissa. We’ll just have to wait and see.” He stretched his legs back out onto the coffee table, kissed the top of her head, and re-started the episode that Chris’ phone call had interrupted. Lydia watched absentmindedly, slowly running her fingers along one of the buttonholes in Stiles’ flannel over shirt. After about ten minutes, the sudden lack of noise made her focus in; the TV had been paused again and when she glanced up she found Stiles looking down at her fondly.

“I can feel you thinking.” He said. “But I can’t quite catch the gist of it... what’s going on in there?”

“Oh,” Lydia shifted so she could see him better, “I was just wondering how long it had been since you’d seen your dad. I can’t think of a time in the last ten years when he took a vacation.”

“I haven’t seen Dad face to face since I left. He’s been taking care of his town and I’ve been taking care of mine. We FaceTime once a week though.” He smiled sadly. Lydia sat up abruptly.

“You haven’t seen your dad in almost _ten years_?” She asked, horrified.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen either of _your_ folks?” He responded.

“Forever, but that’s not unusual. You and your dad were practically inseparable for a long time. And then you just up and leave and you haven’t seen him since?”

“Lydia... I didn’t have a choice, you know that right? I could feel the sickness rolling off of Scott the minute Allison died, he probably would have tried to kill me if I hadn’t left.” He watched her and she could see the sorrow in his eyes. He hadn’t _wanted_ to leave, at least, not in the way that he did; of that she was certain. Just as abruptly as she had sat up, she collapsed back down upon him.

“You’re right. I know, I’m sorry.” She felt his arms wrap around her and his chin rest on her head. “Why? Do you think?” She asked.

“Why what?” Stiles shifted slightly and she moved her elbow so it wasn’t digging quite so hard into his ribs.

“Why was it so different between Scott... and us? I mean, we were apart for just as long as he and Allison have been, but we were fine.”

“Well for one thing, even though our bonds weren’t cemented, we both _had_ bonded.” At some point during the night after the vampire attack, Lydia had told him how she thought that she too, had bonded during their very first kiss. “Scott’s bond was one-way. It was also a rough break, and I’m sure I didn’t help matters by leaving. If he had killed the person he held responsible for his potential mate’s death, he probably would have recovered. The selfish creature that I am... I took that opportunity away from him.” Stiles laughed humorlessly. “Also I think it helped that we were pretty far apart. We weren’t seeing the object of our bond everyday. I think it kind of put the bond in stasis until we found each other again.”

“What would happen to us? If one of us died, I mean. Would it be as bad? Or worse, because we’re fully bonded.” She stayed still, not wanting to see the pain she could feel through the bond flashing though his eyes at the thought. This question had almost been answered only a few short days ago.

“I’ve seen bonded pairs lose their mate prematurely. It’s not pretty. Unless they can find something else to live for, they usually go on a rampage until they kill the person or thing responsible.”

“And then?”

“Dying of a broken heart isn’t just a romantic notion.” He said quietly. “Usually, if they had children, the mate that’s still alive will bring themselves out of the spiral to care for their kids, but some of my wolves know of pairs that that didn’t work for.”

“What would we do, do you think?” Lydia whispered.

“You can probably feel what would happen if you think about it enough. Most mates can, though they don’t like doing it. But honestly? You’re strong, and determined. I think you would probably pull yourself out of it, not because you didn’t love me,” he added hastily, as she shifted with the urge to argue, “but for the pack. You’ve already come into the role of Alpha’s Mate. I can’t even imagine you allowing yourself to let them down. Not that they would consider it as you letting them down, they would understand, but I think that’s how you would see it.” He shrugged and Lydia thought about that for a minute. He was right, she realized. As much as it would hurt to lose him, and she could feel how broken she would be if he was gone, she would pull herself together and be strong, for the pack.

“What about you?” She asked... somehow determined to see this unpleasant topic through to the end. He took a deep breath and for a minute she wasn’t sure he was going to answer.

“Colin would have to put me down.” He replied softly. Lydia sat up again and looked at him; his eyes were dark and serious. “I told you once Lydia, if you died, I would go out of my freaking mind. Nothing would be able to pull me out of it. If I was allowed to live, I would kill everything in my sight, because I wouldn’t be able not to.” His eyes never left hers as he was speaking and she shuddered, curling into him once again and gripping him tightly.

“Let’s not let it come to that then.” She muttered quickly.

“Agreed.” He responded, his voice rough, and he chuckled darkly. “You and I are just gonna live forever and ever amen. Pinky promise?” His large hand came into view, the pinky extended. Lydia wrapped her much smaller pinky around his.

“Pinky promise.”

“Good!” His voice was decidedly and purposefully upbeat. “Then can you stop depressing us and let us finish this episode? We’re right in the middle of the good part!”

“Okay okay! Sorry!” Lydia laughed and the tension broke. Stiles pushed play on the remote once again, and the sounds of legal mischief and machinations started back up. Even so, his arm stayed tightly wrapped around her, and hers around him, for the rest of the night.


	20. Chapter 20

“So you just _let_ Gerard beat you half to death?” Lydia exclaimed, looking at Stiles.

“He _did_!” Erica broke in before he could respond. “And I mean, we felt horrible, because there was nothing we could do, and he had tried to help us, and he was getting pounded into the pavement, and he just took it! Right?” She looked over at Boyd, who was in the kitchen, acting as sous-chef for Stiles. After the vampire debacle had settled down, Lydia had demanded Stiles take her to see Boyd and Erica. He had made the hour’s-long drive in about thirty seconds worth of wind travel, and the three of them were now catching up in Erica and Boyd’s cosy apartment as Stiles cooked dinner and threw in the occasional sarcastic quip. Boyd nodded.

“Yeah. Just stayed there and took it. We figured it was because he didn’t want the Argents to know he was a werewolf.”

“Wait, you _knew?”_ Lydia asked, shocked.

“Well, not until that night. We could smell it on him as soon as he came down the stairs, although we couldn’t figure out how we didn’t notice it earlier. It took us until he came to visit after Allison died to find out why.” Erica told her.

“But, why did you just take the beating?” Lydia questioned, looking at Stiles.

“For one thing, it gave me the advantage. Because Gerard didn’t know what I was, it made it a whole lot easier for me to sneak back in and get these two out.” He answered as he flipped the steaks over on the griddle.

“Which was extraordinarily startling, just so you know.” Boyd pointed out wryly.

“No _kidding_! There we are, hanging from electric wires in a hunter’s basement, you’ve just been dragged out, we don’t know what’s going to happen to us... and all of a sudden you just, _poof_! Appear. Out of thin air. All your cuts and bruises were just _gone._ And then, _and then_ , you just, flip out a switchblade? And cut the ropes _and_ the electric wires-which should have knocked you across the room but didn’t-and grab us and the next thing we know we’re in the preserve, and you’re digging up a suitcase full of money and shoving it at us and then moving us again...”

“Erica, wrap it up, dinner’s gonna be cold by the time you’re done.” Boyd interrupted.

“Oh, you’re not even done cooking it yet... anyways to make a long story short...”

“Too late!” Boyd and Stiles chorused.

“ _Anyways_ he got us well out of Beacon Hills, set us up comfortably, and didn’t say a word as to _how_ he was doing all this. Not until he came back two years later. And not knowing _killed_ us.”

“Killed _you_.” Boyd corrected. Erica waved a laughing hand at him.

“They were the first stop I made after Allison.” Stiles put in. “Helped put me back together. For which I am eternally grateful.” He raised his wine glass in silent salute, before sipping from it as he checked the oven.

“Well if you hadn’t gotten us out when you did? I’m pretty sure we’d be dead by now, so really thank _you_ Stiles.” Boyd responded.

“Seriously Batman, we were really glad we were able to help. We owed you.” Erica smiled, raising her own wine glass back at Stiles. He graciously inclined his head, smiling softly.

“So, you guys aren’t in the pack, are you?” Lydia asked. Erica shook her head.

“No, we’re in the local pack that’s over here. Our packs are allies though, and have continual permission to travel back and forth across each other’s lands... that’s why Stiles didn’t have to set up a formal meeting with our alpha before coming here.”

“Although I really should, it’s just bad manners not to introduce my new mate.” Stiles added. “Dinner’s up.” He and Boyd each grabbed a couple of plates of food and started carrying it over to the table as Lydia and Erica stood and joined them.

“Seriously Stiles, you should. Jethro’s gonna be _so mad_ you didn’t end up with Jenna... he had your wedding planned out and _everything_.” Erica laughed. Stiles groaned.

“Oh man, noooo! I can’t stand Jenna! She does _nothing_ but talk about existentialism. She’s like a real-life Chidi Anagonye.” He shuddered.

“What’s wrong with Chidi?” Lydia asked.

“Would _you_ want to be married to him? Pre-Good Place?” Stiles retorted.

“... fair enough.” Lydia conceded as the others laughed.

“You like philosophy! You once went on a forty-five minute tangent about Plato’s Ascent to Knowledge!” Erica exclaimed.

“I like _philosophy_ , and only _some_ of the time. She only ever talks about _one portion_ of philosophy, _all_ of the time; and then it’s not a discussion it’s a term paper in verbal format. She’s nice enough, but... no way... I gotta come up for air sometime.” He looked at Lydia and paused in his dramatics to explain. “Jethro is the local alpha here, and Jenna is his sister. He’s been trying to hook us up for as long as I’ve known him.”

“Wedding bells doth not ring out, eh?” Lydia asked, hiding her smile behind her glass.

“Not for her and I.” Stiles side-eyed her, and changed the subject. “How is Mikey doing? He’s in, what, second grade now?” Erica and Boyd nodded.

“He’s doing fine. Loving the social side of school, hating the homework. Uncle Stiles is gonna have to come by sometime and explain how he used his own schooling to help out our kind.” Erica smiled. Lydia hadn’t met the seven year-old who was both the pride and terror of his parents lives, being that he was at a friends house for the night; but in the many, _many_ photos she had been shown, it was clear that he had his mother’s smile, his father’s death glare, and Uncle Stiles’ penchant for getting into trouble.

“Has he had any trouble with the shift?”

“Not at all, which surprised us, but Derek _did_ say that it could be easier for born wolves. It never was for him, but it was a possibility.” Boyd answered.

“Speaking of, guess who’s joined my pack?” Stiles raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“No way!” Erica exclaimed.

“Really?” Boyd asked at the same time.

“Seriously.” Lydia answered. “Derek and Cora both. You guys should come over sometime soon and say hi! I’m sure he’d love to see you!”

“I don’t know about that.” Erica frowned. “We basically left him alone to deal with the alpha pack.”

“Trust me, he would love it.” Stiles assured her. “He never blamed you for leaving. He knew it was what was best for you.” Erica and Boyd looked at each other.

“Do you think we could come tomorrow? We’ve both got the day off.” Erica asked hopefully.

“Absolutely!” We could use the extra hands, we’re getting together as a pack tomorrow to start the rebuild of the warehouse. Jake and his boys are gonna do the more delicate details, but we’re gonna help put up the main walls and try to get the roof up. We’ve got so many people it should be pretty easy but a couple more is always welcome! And feel free to bring Mikey, all the kids are gonna be in charge of picking up dropped nails and delivering refreshments.” Stiles responded.

“That sounds great! We’ll definitely be there! What time?” Erica questioned.

“Starting at eight sharp. Oh and Sophie _will_ bite you if you forget to bring your recipe for baklava... for someone who doesn’t get any kind of nourishment from human food, she will eat _buckets_ of that stuff.” Stiles chuckled. Erica tossed her hair.

“Well, that’s the beauty of baklava, there isn’t actually any nourishment in it in the first place!” She winked.

***

Erica did _not_ forget to bring her recipe for baklava. Sophie squealed ecstatically when Erica handed her a copy as soon as she had gotten out of the car. Traffic had held them up, and by the time Erica, Boyd, and Mikey arrived, work had already begun. Lydia saw them looking around for Stiles and waved them over.

“Hey Derek? Could you come over here a sec? I’ve got a surprise for you.” Stiles called. Derek, brows drawn together in confusion started walking towards them and stopped when he saw Erica and Boyd. As Stiles had privately predicted to Lydia on the way home, the reunion between Derek and his former betas was an emotional one. His eyebrows wiggled an unprecedented amount, and Erica cried all over his henley. The three of them hugged repeatedly, and Mikey started asking a _lot_ of questions, most of them directed to ‘Nice Uncle Derek with the Eyebrows’, which put Stiles in hysterics.

“What are you guys doing here?” Derek asked, once some of the hugging was out of the way.

“Stiles set us up with a local alpha about an hour from here, back when he helped us get out of Beacon Hills. We’ve been here ever since.” Erica answered, wiping her eyes with the tail of her shirt.

“They come over and visit from time to time. I have an agreement with the alpha, Jethro.” Stiles explained. “We’re allies, so we don’t have to ask permission to cross each other’s territory. Works pretty well.”

“Essentially, you can come and visit anytime you want to, starting with dinner next Friday, Cora too, it’s about time we meet her!” Erica added. Derek looked at Stiles.

“You brought my family back to me. How did you do that?” He asked. Lydia came up beside them and slipped a hand into Stiles’.

“He did the same for me.” She said, smiling up at Stiles. He smiled back and shrugged.

“Nobody should be without their family. Simple as that.” He glanced around at the very _large_ family that was currently rebuilding a warehouse and looked back at them. His face was happy but Lydia detected a current of sadness through their bond. _He_ hadn’t seen his family in almost ten years, she remembered, and promised herself that she would change that... very soon.


	21. Chapter 21

Lydia grumbled as she stopped to rifle through her purse. It had been three months since the event that the pack was collectively calling The Vampire Incident, and the rebuilding of the warehouse was moving along splendidly. Allison was calling regularly regarding the Scott issue, Derek and Cora had settled into their own apartment, and Jackson, having left for London ten weeks previously, was now making noises that hinted at his wanting to come back to stay. No new crises had occurred and Lydia had taken this adrenaline-free time to get some Christmas shopping done, as well as scouting out what new furniture was needed for the warehouse. However, _no_ shopping was going to get done if she couldn’t find her wallet... ah, there it was. She gripped it tightly in her hand and started off down the street. There was a jacket that Stiles had been oogling for _weeks_ and she was hopeful that she would be able to grab it before someone else did. She was just musing how nice it was for everything to be going right, something that very rarely happened back in Beacon Hills, when someone grabbed her from behind, and all went black. 

***

When she woke up, her first reaction was to curse herself for inevitably bringing Murphy’s law upon herself. Her second reaction was to grab onto the link that tied her together to her mate and try to get ahold of him.

_“Stiles?”_ She thought groggily.

_“About time you woke up.”_ He thought crossly, although she could feel his worry in her soul. _“Are you okay? We’re trying to track you, where are you? What happened?”_ What had happened indeed.

_“I’m not sure what happened, or where I am, hold on.”_ Lydia raised her head and started to look around her when an unfamiliar male voice startled her.

“She’s awake.” It said. A second voice joined it.

“Good. About time. Alright honey, where are all your werewolf pals? And what kind of a human hangs out with those beasts anyways?”

_“Oh.”_ Lydia told Stiles sourly. _“Hunters.”_ Stiles swore. _“Language.”_ She barked at him and he laughed. The second voice came into view, and Lydia saw a tall man dressed in black, a gun on his hip and his arms crossed.

“Well? I asked you a question.” He snarled.

“And I didn’t answer. I thought that would seem rather obvious.” She raised an eyebrow. He moved as if to slap her but the first man stopped him. He too, was dressed all in black.

“Cool it Jack. There’s another way.” He strode into a dark corner and pulled out a bound, squirming young woman. Lydia didn’t recognize her, and when she tentatively poked the pack bonds, the women didn’t respond. Not one of the pack then. The first man pulled out a blade and softly traced it along the whimpering woman’s neck.

“You’ve got such a soft spot for these beasts. You tell us where your pack is, and I won’t kill this one in front of you.” He grinned. Lydia scoffed just as Stiles spoke in her head again.

_“Hot dog, we’ve got your scent. On our way, see if you can find out how many of them there are.”_

“You’re not gonna kill her.” Lydia pulled all the attitude she had out and plastered it over her face.

“What makes you so sure of that?” Jack asked.

“Because you she’s one of your own.” She raised an eyebrow. The woman stopped squirming and the man’s expression changed from superiority to dismay. Lydia kept talking. “Please, it’s so obvious that you’re not a werewolf, they would have ripped those ropes to shreds in half a heartbeat. Even if you were newly bitten, all that squirming would have freed you. Plus, if he _had_ been threatening to _actually_ kill you, I doubt he would have been so careful as to not cut you with that knife. Now why would he be careful about that, I wonder? Maybe because you’re not actually a werewolf, you won’t heal and he doesn’t want to _actually_ hurt you? It was an amateurish move to try and trick me like that.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Besides, even if I told you where my pack was, it wouldn’t do you any good. You won’t be able to kill them. We’re too strong.” She glared at them both. Jack scoffed.

“We’ve got twenty-five hunters with us. We could leave half of us behind to cook dinner and _still_ wipe the floor with your ‘ _pack_ ’.” At his words, Lydia smirked and the first man strode over to him and slapped him on the back of his head.

_“Twenty-five, I’ve got three in here with me.”_ She told Stiles, and felt his affirmation.

“You don’t tell these things how many of us there are, stupid.” The first man was telling Jack.

“What she gonna do? She’s a human tied to a chair.” Jack retorted.

“See, there’s your problem... I’m not human.” Lydia said calmly. All three of the hunters, including the woman who had finished untying herself looked at her and, as one, drew their weapons. Lydia huffed a laugh.

“Ooh. Scary.” With that last bit of sarcasm, she screamed and sent them all flying into the wall. They hit the ground and crumpled to the floor, unmoving.

“Amateurs.” Lydia rolled her eyes and sat patiently as the sounds of minor battle drew near. The doors flew open and Stiles strode in.

“Honey, I’m home!” He grinned as he glanced over at the unconscious hunters. “Aw, you take all the fun out of things, I was enjoying the thought of bashing their heads in myself!”

“Well then you shouldn’t have mated to a warrioress.” Lydia raised her head proudly as he came over and sliced through the ropes holding her. He scooped her up bridal style and looked at her fondly.

“I thought you were a damsel in distress?” He raised an eyebrow. Lydia sniffed.

“That’s not what my mate tells me.” She couldn’t keep a straight face and grinned at him. Stiles threw his head back and laughed. “Did you get the other twenty-two of them?” She asked him.

“Easily. They weren’t expecting a full-on assault.”

“I think they’re pretty new to the game.” She raised an eyebrow at the now-conscious young woman who had untangled herself from her comrades and was trying to silently creep up on them. Without warning, a tree root crashed up through the floor and wrapped itself around her tightly, keeping her from being able to move.

“Oh! I didn’t know you could do that!” Lydia jumped slightly and laughed gleefully as her mate _very_ _obviously_ showed off for her.

“What, the old, pull a tree root up from the floor to grab onto someone and make them hold still-trick? That’s old hat. Although I guess I don’t use it very often, it’s less subtle in a city than it is in a forest.” Stiles smirked. “Just so you know,” he addressed the woman. “My colleagues are on their way... not the furry ones, the ones in blue. You really shouldn’t have come after a cop’s mate. It’s just not smart. Enjoy prison!” He chirped with a bright smile on his face. Lydia giggled. She hadn’t been scared before, knowing Stiles was on the way to clean up any bad guys she missed had kept her _extremely_ serene; but now, snuggled in her mate’s arms, watching him show off for her, knowing that she was about to start a post-battle tradition of hot chocolate and pack cuddles, Lydia felt euphoric.

“Hope you make friends!” She waved at the still trapped huntress as Stiles walked towards the doors. He paused on the threshold and looked at her with a gentle smile. “What is it?” She asked. He shook his head and kissed her.

“Marry me?” He asked, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Of course I will.” Lydia closed her eyes and breathed in his presence. She could feel him smiling, and his contentment oozed across their bond and filled her to the brim.

“Come on, let’s go home.” He whispered, and, bringing the winds around them, they disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh only two chapters left! I hope you like it!


	22. Epilogue

“Issac! Sophie! If you keep ‘testing out the mistletoe’,” Lydia made air quotes with her fingers, “then it’s never gonna get put up! The party starts in an _hour_!”

“Sorry Lydia!” Issac and Sophie chorused together, before sneaking in one last quick kiss and then starting to distribute the mistletoe around the shiny new warehouse. Garlands and wreaths were already hung up and a gorgeously decorated fifteen-foot Christmas tree stood in one corner, solemnly guarding the massive pile of presents underneath its branches. The pack’s Christmas tradition for years had been to have a Christmas Eve party at the warehouse, spend the night there, and spend Christmas morning together, opening all the presents. Family and extended families were invited to come to both the party/sleepover and/or the Christmas festivities in the morning, and this year, Lydia had been elected to be in charge of decorations. She had immediately gone shopping and Stiles had immediately regretted giving her access to the pack credit card. She had distracted him with kisses, however, and he had forgotten to bring it up again.

“Caroline, don’t we have another table in the back? I don’t think this is gonna be enough room for all the food that’s coming.” Lydia called. Caroline looked skywards, mentally counting,then nodded.

“Yeah, I think we do. Jesse? Can you go check? It should be in the very back of the storage room.” She glanced at one of the younger wolves who was obviously in between jobs at the moment. He nodded, and scampered off. “Lydia, everything looks great, and I can supervise the last few things that need to get put up. You go home, take a shower, take a quick nap, and get ready for the party.” Caroline gently ushered her towards the door.

“What about all the rest of you? You have to get ready too!” Lydia protested.

“We haven’t been here since six o’clock this morning, and most of us brought our party clothes with us to change into here. You look exhausted and if you don’t get a nap you’re going to be miserable for the party! Now, _go_!” She ushered Lydia less gently. Lydia laughed.

“Okay, okay. I’ll call Stiles and have him come and get me.” She did, and in a few moments, she was back home in her neat little apartment. She shoved Stiles back to _his_ apartment with some difficulty; he was a little mopey and wont to follow her around like a lost puppy. This wasn’t all that unusual during the holidays, according to his pack, although he tried hard to hide it, but this year it was made worse by the fact that Allison had yet to return from Beacon Hills. The biweekly progress reports she called in were looking hopeful, Scott’s behavior was changing with minimal haunting, to Allison’s eternal disappointment, but she hadn’t given them a return date. Well, she hadn’t given _Stiles_ a return date, but she had called Lydia a week ago and told her that she was planning on being back with Stiles’ Christmas presents in time for the party. This was why Lydia had shoved Stiles out; normally she would be happy to be with him but she was anticipating the return any second and wanted him gone before he saw his surprises. She checked her phone and saw a text from Allison.

_Stuck in traffic, gonna change at the next rest stop and head straight to the warehouse. See you soon xx_

Lydia sighed, partly in disappointment and partly in relief, now she really would have time to take a quick nap.

***

Fifty minutes later, a freshly napped, showered, and dressed Lydia opened the door with a flourish and watched Stiles’ jaw go slack. She was wearing a white mock neck sweater tucked into a high-waisted red and black checked miniskirt. Her black boots were thigh-high, her hair was in a high pony and her green earrings were three inches long. What she was pretty sure had him so awestruck, however, was the black suit jacket that she had found in the back of his closet, stolen, and then had tailored to fit her curves perfectly. She was very purposefully wearing _his_ clothes to a very _large_ party and every werewolf in the area would know it. His eye glinted and before she had time to truly appreciate his outfit, he had cupped the back of her neck with his hand, gripped her waist with the other and was kissing her hungrily. She didn’t have a problem reciprocating. It was, after all, the reason she had yet to apply her lipstick. When he pulled back, albeit somewhat reluctantly, he only went far enough to let them breathe, still holding her close, his eyes closed. She was pretty sure he was purring, or at least the wolf equivalent, and her soul quivered in pleasure at such an enthusiastic response from her mate.

“If I’d had known the reaction I was going to get I would have worn this sooner.” She whispered, grinning. Stiles grinned back at her and pulled back a little more.

“You look... _perfect_. Although you _are_ missing one thing.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a small jewelry case. “It took me a while to find it, I had it securely stored where I couldn’t remember.” He huffed a laugh and handed her the case. Lydia looked at him with wide eyes, and gently opened the case. Inside was a channel-set engagement ring featuring a dark green emerald as the center stone. She gasped.

“Stiles! It’s _beautiful_!”

“It was my mom’s.” He whispered. She looked up at him, surprised to find tears in his eyes. “She would have loved to have known you.” He smiled softly.

“Stiles, I will be honored to wear this.” She said quietly, smiling at him, surprised to find herself tearing up as well. He took the case out of her hands and took the ring out of its soft nest. Taking her left hand in his, he slid the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

“It’s perfect.” Lydia whispered. She kissed him again, this time more gently. They breathed together for a second, before Stiles let out a long breath.

“Okay, let’s go get this party started!” He said.

“No! Hold on, let me get a good look at you! I didn’t get a chance to see before you were kissing me!” Lydia protested. Stiles laughed and stepped back so she could see him better. He had his customary black leather jacket on, but underneath he had exchanged his usual henleys for a black button down, tucked into new, dark wash jeans and dress shoes that were far to shiny to have been used very often. A dark red tie hung loosely around his collar. He looked stunning and Lydia couldn’t resist kissing him again. After a few moments, Stiles pulled away with a laugh.

“If we keep this up, we’re not gonna make it to the party. Come on, we should go. Is that your bag? Here, let me have it.” He took the overnight bag that had her Christmas pajamas and toiletries in it and wrapped his other arm around her. She applied her lipstick, stuck it into her purse, and a few seconds later, they were arriving at the warehouse.

***

Caroline had done an excellent job in chivvying her minions into finishing the last minute preparations for the party. The warehouse looked beautiful. The new throw rugs were arranged in a carefully haphazard way across the beautiful hardwood flooring. Pockets of furniture sat in little groups everywhere so several conversations could be going easily at once and long tables that were rapidly being filled with food were stretched across the back wall. The garlands were shimmering in the brightly shining Christmas lights that were also hung everywhere, Sophie and Issac were once again testing out one of the hangings of mistletoe, and Christmas music went on softly in the background, playing just loud enough for the two couples already dancing in the space cleared out specifically for that purpose. People were arriving in droves and the coats were being laid in a pile on one of the cots in the new first aid room Lydia had designed to fit into the back of the warehouse. With so many wolves around, there would be no danger of someone accidentally taking home the wrong coat. Stiles left his jacket in amongst all the others and Lydia had to resist from kissing him again when she noticed that his sleeves were rolled up his forearms. She still wasn’t sure why that made him even more attractive but evidently she wasn’t the only one who thought so. She glared at one of the pack’s visiting cousins who was obviously eyeing her mate. Stiles only had eyes for Lydia, however, and this mollified her. He held his arm out to her.

“Shall we mingle?” He asked, clearly feeling her jealously though the bond and thoroughly enjoying it if his smirk was anything to go by. She sniffed haughtily, took his arm and allowed him to lead her around, introducing her to the many relatives of the pack. It wasn’t long before _his_ jealously flared up too, when one of the human brothers of a pack member started giving her the eye. Possessively, he took her hand in his and kissed it, eyeing the man the entire time. The man got the message, and moved on. Lydia giggled, and Stiles joined her.

“Well, we’re a pair aren’t we?” He whispered in her ear as they wiggled giddily through the crowd to the next group of people for her to meet. Lydia only giggled again.

***

People had mostly stopped arriving about thirty minutes later, when Lydia spotted Issac frantically trying to catch her attention without Stiles seeing. She excused herself from the conversation and hurried over.

“They’re here!” He whispered. “Or at least, they will be in about five minutes, they’re parking the car, Allison just texted me.” He was practically vibrating with excitement. Lydia clapped her hands.

“Perfect! I’ll go get him and start leading him this way.” She serpentined her way back through the crowed but Stiles had moved from where she had left him. She glanced around and found him a few feet away, surreptitiously looking around for her and trying to hide how uncomfortable he was. One of the cousins, wearing what Lydia considered to be far too little for a family Christmas party, had cornered Stiles between a large armchair that had three people sitting in it, and a wall. Her hand was on his bicep and she was loudly cooing about how _strong_ he was _tee_ _hee_. Lydia growled and Matt, who was standing near her, looked at her in surprise before looking where she was and then smirking at her.

“Go get’em boss lady. You’re allowed to be just as possessive over him as he is over you.” He said quietly. Lydia flashed him a fierce grin and strode through the crowd. Her anger must have been palpable because werewolves cleared the way for her as she walked towards them; the humans who were being moved in the process looking puzzled.

“There you are darling!” She chirped loudly. Stiles’ relieved eyes found hers instantly and then shifted to amusement as he read what was coming though the bond. He must have been really distracted by the fake blond in front of him if it took him this long to notice her mood, Lydia mused. Said blond turned towards her, displeased at the interruption, but Lydia didn’t even glance at her. Grabbing Stiles’ face with both hands, making sure her engagement ring was fully on display, she pulled his head down and kissed him with conviction. She felt his arms wrap around her waist tightly and then felt him straighten. Her feet left the ground and for a moment she felt like they were reenacting the scene from Crazy Stupid Love where Emma Stone kisses Ryan Gosling in the bar. She wrapped an arm around his neck and deepened the kiss, to which he responded eagerly. Cat calls and wolf howls resounded around the warehouse and she kept the kiss going for longer than she normally would have. Finally pulling away, she gave him one last quick peck before he carefully set her down. Lydia pulled out her compact, leaned against him, and fixed her lipstick before turning to the irate cousin with the fake blond hair and the too-tiny dress, and smiling triumphantly.

“This one’s mine... I suggest you find your own.” She grabbed Stiles’ hand and started pulling him away. “This way darling, your Christmas present just arrived.” Swinging her hips, she walked towards the door as the crowd once again parted for her, this time filled with smirking werewolves and dumbfounded humans.

“I enjoyed that.” Stiles said as they walked away. She flashed a satisfied grin over her shoulder to him.

“So did I. But I think you’re going to enjoy this too.” She could see Allison’s hair through the crowd, just slightly to the left of the door. It didn’t take long for Stiles to see her either.

“Hey! Allison made it! I didn’t think...” He stopped suddenly, pulling Lydia up short as they were still holding hands. “Is that?” He asked. Lydia smiled at him.

“Merry Christmas, Stiles. Like you said the other day, nobody should be without their family.” She squeezed his hand and he glanced at her gratefully with once-again tear-filled eyes. In another moment, he was moving swiftly towards the small group, pulling her along with him. He stopped when he reached them and looked at the older man who was staring back at him through his own tears.

“Dad.” Stiles said, finally letting go of Lydia’s hand and rushing forwards to meet his dad in the hug of all hugs.

“Stiles.” John gasped, grabbing onto his son and looking for all the world that he would never let go again. The two men stood clasping each other, Stiles’ ecstatic euphoria bleeding through the pack bonds and affecting everyone in the pack. Lydia could hear them murmuring greetings and contentment to each other as she stood watching them, smiling. She hugged Allison and Chris, and turned to the last person, waiting patiently for her own hug.

“Melissa, it’s so good to see you.” Lydia said.

“Lydia,it’s so good to see you so healthy, and happy! I’ve missed you but I’m so glad you’re here with Stiles... _oh_!” As Melissa had pulled out of her hug with Lydia, Stiles had reached out with one arm and snagged her, pulling her into the hug with him and his dad. He shifted over a little bit and kissed the top of her head.

“Thank you, for taking such good care of my dad for me.” He told her. Melissa leaned into him, not used to the pull of the alpha, and sighed.

“Of course Stiles. I’m glad I was able to help.” She replied. John finally pulled out of the hug, wiping at his eyes and laughing.

“Help. _Sure_ she helped, kept me from fries and burgers and kept bringing me salads!” Everyone laughed and Stiles hugged both Allison and Chris, before pulling Lydia into him.

“Thank you.” He whispered, keeping his arm around her even as he led them all to one of the unoccupied circles of furniture. “So, Allison, you staying here or going back to Beacon Hills after New Years?” He said as he sat down in one of the bigger armchairs, and Lydia promptly sat down on top of him, still not quite over the audacity of the girl who had gone after him moments ago. She leaned into him as Allison gave her report.

“No, I’m staying here. Scott’s doing pretty well, he’s loosened up on his betas, being more proactive when it comes to chasing out threats... they’re learning what it is to be a real pack. And it only took four months of haunting by me and several hundred extremely aggressive lectures from Melissa to get him there!” Lydia laughed and Stiles chuckled.

“Thank you, Stiles,” Melissa said from her place next to John on the couch, “for sending Allison back to help Scott. I didn’t know what to do. None of us did.”

“I only wish I could have figured it out sooner. It took me losing it a bit myself while I was waiting for Lydia to answer _my_ mate bond to realize what it was that was going on with Scott.” Stiles shrugged regretfully.

“Well better late than never.” Chris said.

“What’s better late than never?” Issac asked, his arm around Sophie as they came and joined the group. “Hiya Sheriff! Melissa! It’s great to see you!” Another round of hugs went by, complete with Melissa subtly sizing up this ‘new girl’ in Issac’s life and wholeheartedly approving. Stiles and John quickly delved deep into the what’s and wherefore’s of each other’s lives that hadn’t been disclosed in their weekly video chats. Erica, Boyd, and Mikey bounded over and into one of the couches, startling Melissa to no end, but making her laugh _very_ hard. Derek and Cora came over soon after, quickly followed by Jackson, who had flown back from London to officially join Stiles’ pack; ostensibly because the pack dynamics were healthier, but Lydia suspected that it had rather more to do with a certain attractive pack member that Jackson kept very carefully _not_ looking at. She sighed, leaning back into Stiles as the others chattered happily around her. This was pack. This was how it was always meant to be.

A few years down the road, when Scott is finally fully healed and Christmastime has arrived, he joins them here, in the warehouse, along with his pack and their families. Lydia and Stiles have their own little ones running around, asking ‘Nice Uncle Derek with the Eyebrows’ all sorts of questions about what their parents were like when they were young. (Stiles always protests that he’s not _that_ old). Issac and Sophie continue ‘testing’ the mistletoe as they get it properly hung. Melissa comes a few days early every year to help with the cooking. Chris has finally moved full-time to Detroit and shares an apartment with Allison; they come up with ridiculous games to play and contests to hold every year during the party. And it goes on from there. They laugh and share stories and sneak candy to each other’s kids as revenge for all the candy given out _last_ year leaving them with super-hyper three year-olds. They cuddle, they dance, they open presents and eat. And then they go their separate ways again for the year, but they always come together for the holidays, because they’re family, and they always will be. And nobody should be without their family. It’s as simple as that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here’s the deal... I thought I was gonna be done after this (plus a bonus chapter). I was wrong. You guys have given me so many more ideas and honestly I love this little world that I’ve created and I don’t want to permanently stop. Soooo instead of posting the bonus chapter on this story like I was planning, I’m turning this into a series and I’ll post it next week as a one-shot! This way I can still give you guys some of the cute little scenes that are still floating in my head that I couldn’t figure out how to work into the plot. I probably won’t stick to the Friday schedule anymore, just because I’ve got some other projects on the back burner that I’d like to work on and I need to give myself the space to do that. Thanks SO MUCH for all the love and encouragement you guys! I adore you! Keep being wonderful and awesome! ♥️😘♥️

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, but it’s been rattling around in my head and wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it down. I hope you guys like it!


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